Shared
by NukeRose
Summary: Connor comforts Jude after the car crash during the season finale, and the aftermath. Then shows how the future plays out afterwards, and experiences they share with each other and others. (Please leave a review.)
1. Chapter 1: Hospital Conversation

**Shared **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable characters from the Fosters.**

Connor's POV:

One more day. That's all the doctors said they are keeping me. I don't know whether to be excited or terrified. Little bit of both I think. Things are starting to look up for me though.

I came out to dad. I came out to Daria. I broke up with Daria. I came out to Jude. I started dating Jude. All in the space of about thirty hours.

I'm surprised I don't have whiplash.

I lay in bed now, staring dazedly off into space, when Jude's face flashes through my mind, bringing a smile to my face. I asked him to be my boyfriend yesterday when he visited.

*Flashback*

"I can't believe my dad actually let you in." I said to Jude, whose head rested happily against my shoulder.

Jude chuckled. It was a dry, humorless laugh that I had never heard him use before.

"Thank Lena. She's the one who talked him into it." Jude said, sitting up. An undertone of scathing dislike painted his features as he glared at the door to the room, beyond which stood my dad.

"What did she say?" I asked curiously.

"She said something about how while he could keep me away, how was he gonna keep all the other boys away as well." Jude said, a note of satisfaction lacing his tone.

"Bet that nearly gave him a heart attack."

Jude snorted.

"You kidding? He looked like he was about to cry."

Now it was my turn to snort. I turned to him, staring into his eyes. I smiled softly, allowing myself to get lost in the chocolate orbs. I raised a hand a stroked his cheek.

"I'm so sorry, Jude." I said to him. He looked at me funny.

"Why are you sorry? You've got nothing to be sorry for…" He says.

"But I do!" I speak up, cutting him off, "Ever since the kiss in the tent I've treated you like shit! I've played with your feelings with all my mixed feelings! I kissed Daria in front of you, when I knew it was hurting both of us! I tried to keep our friendship a secret from my dad, when I should've stood up to him! I've been a shitty friend! I was so confused about these feelings I have. Feelings I've been raised to believe were wrong or unnatural. When I started having them for my best friend, I freaked! Then Daria came in and everything just got so out of hand!"

"CONNOR." Jude said, raising his voice for the first time. "It's okay. I get the confusion. I get the trying to force the feelings away! I get you being afraid of your dad. I get how you were afraid to tell him the truth! I get how you were scared of being different. I used to be too!"

"Are you kidding me? You're never scared of anything! You're the strongest person I know!" I shot back.

"I woke up this morning, and made the decision to come up here. I was terrified! I put on my nail polish, and walked here. On the way here I stopped being scared and started getting angry. And I walked up to your father, and I told him I wanted to see you and I wasn't leaving until I did. He said no, so I sat down next to the door and told him I could wait all day. That's when he called Lena, and made his last mistake."

I stared into his eyes as he spoke, realizing in the back of my mind that we had both started crying.

"I wasn't going to give up my best friend without a fight!" Jude growled, his voice breaking as he finished the sentence.

I grabbed him by the front of the shirt and yanked him into a kiss. He returned it. Hard.

Twenty seconds later we pulled apart, panting from loss of breath.

"That was…" Jude cut me off with a kiss of his own. I stared at him in awe. All the times we had kissed before, I had initiated it. This was the first time he had started it. He pulled away. We stared into each other's eyes again.

"What does this make us?" Jude asked me.

"We could… Try dating each other? If you want?" I asked hopefully. He smiled.

"I'd like that." He said, wrapping me in a hug. He snuggled into my side and our attention returned to the television.

"What are we going to tell people?" Jude asked.

"That you're my boyfriend." I told him. He looked up at me, "I promise I'll never try to hide you again. You mean the world to me, and you deserve to be gloated about."

We sat in silence until he had to leave before he parted, I planted a kiss right on his lips. I took spiteful pleasure in knowing my dad saw it happen.

*End Flashback*

I was snapped out of my memories by loud noises coming from the hallway. The door flew open and Jude ran in.

It only took my a fraction of a second to notice he was sobbing. He launched himself into the bed and clung to me like a fly stuck in flypaper. My eyes rose up to meet my dad who was standing at the door. I felt a spike of fury.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO HIM NOW!?"

My dad shook his head vigorously, slightly taken aback at my anger.

"I didn't say anything! He showed up like this!"

"Jude what's wrong? What happened?" I begged him to answer me.

"T-there w-w-was an accident." He sobbed and hiccoughed, "J-jesus is d-d-DEAD!"

He broke down completely as he clung to me.

Jesus?

Dead?

Those two words just didn't make sense spoken aloud together.

I wrapped my arms around him, as his sobs racked his body violently. I could feel my heart breaking, and I started crying with him.

If Jude had to feel this pain, then I would feel it too. If he had to feel this grief, I would share it.

Our pain is shared. It always will be.

Always.


	2. Chapter 2: Grief

**Chapter 2.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Fosters.**

Three weeks had passed since Jude clung to me, sobbing about the death of his brother. Two weeks and six days since I was released from the hospital. Three weeks in which neither of us have uttered more than a single word to anybody but each other. Two weeks since the funeral, in which a hysterical Mariana had to be restrained by Stef and Lena from climbing into the coffin with her other half, and I stood leaning heavily on a crutch with my arm wrapped around my boyfriend, desperately trying to provide him the silent comfort that only I could provide. One week since Mariana's birth mother, Anna, had decided she wanted to keep the baby.

But then one of my worst fears was realized. I found those _things _in Jude's bathroom garbage can.

I was spending the night for the first time since the whole shooting incident happened. I was excited and although he didn't show much outward emotion, I knew Jude was too.

We spent the whole day lounging around the house, watching movies, eating nasty microwave popcorn. Just enjoying the others company. At about 10:00 pm, Stef appeared at the entrance to the living room.

"Uh... boys, it's getting late. It's time for you both to get ready for bed." she said tiredly, her eyes sunken. You could tell she, like a lot of the Adams-Fosters, hadn't been sleeping very well.

Jude rose from his spot snuggled into my side, giving me a quick peck on the cheek.

"I'll go first. Don't want too many people crowding the bathroom again." he said nonchalantly before walking off up the stairs. I smiled a soft smile, before turning my head to look back at Lena. She was looking at me funny. I was suddenly nervous.

"Can I still trust you two to share a room without any funny business?" She asked, semi serious. My cheeks got very hot as I blushed. I rose from the couch and put my hands in the pockets of my pajama bottoms.

"We haven't done anything more than kiss."

She nodded. She walked up to me

"I trust you... and thank you for being there for him. He wouldn't have been able to make it through all this without you." Stef told me, and she put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. She offered me a small smile.

"I'll always be there for him, no matter who stands in my way."

I heard the bathroom door upstairs open and close, signaling that it was my turn to use the bathroom. I walked up the stairs and closed the door behind me. I picked up my tooth brush and squirted a bit of tooth paste onto it and began to brush my teeth. I hummed a tune under my breath as I did.

Then I smelt something.

It was the faint scent of copper.

Then I noticed it.

On the toilet seat, near the edge on the front, was a small drop of blood.

I grabbed a q-tip from the medicine cabinet and swiped it through the blood. It smeared, which meant it was fresh. My first reaction was that maybe Brandon cut himself shaving or something, but then I realized how stupid that was, because the blood was on the toilet, not the sink. Then I noticed that there were more drops on the plastic bag that was shoved inside the garbage can. I reached for the garbage can and upturned it, dumping its contents on the floor. I hoped and prayed that I wouldn't hear the sound I had been dreading.

But I heard it, and my heart sank.

The soft metallic ping I most dreaded to hear.

I sought it out with my eyes.

Among the rubbish, wrapped in a bloody square of tissue paper, was a razor blade.

"No..." I whispered. I picked up the blade and pocketed it.

Not Jude. He couldn't be doing _that_... could he? Anybody but Jude. Not my boyfriend.

I stood up shakily and turned and left the bathroom. I walked into the bedroom where Jude sat upright on his bed, playing _Star Wars: Commanders_ on his tablet. I walked up beside him and looked at what he was doing. Or at least that's what I looked like I was doing. I was looking for something I hoped I would not find.

But I still found it.

On the inside of the sleeves of Jude's white long sleeve pajama top, were small lines of red bleeding through.

My knees buckled, and tears sprang to my eyes.

No...

NO...

_NO..._

_**NO...**_

"Jude we need to talk, put down the game for a minute please?" I whispered, and tears leaked from my eyes.

He looked up at me and offers me a small confused smile.

"What is it?" he asked.

I reached out and grabbed his hand. I caressed his hand with mine. I let go, and turned to stare out the window.

"You're cutting yourself aren't you?" I asked, phrasing it more as a statement than a question. I turned back to him and he was staring at me, the chocolate colored eyes I had grown to love so much clouded with fear and sadness.

"What are you talking about?" He asked quietly.

"Don't try to deny it Judicorn. Please." I begged him tearfully, withdrawing the razor blade from my pocket and showing him, "I found the razor in the garbage can, and there is still blood on the toilet seat. I can see blood leaking through the arms of your pajamas! Please don't lie to me."

I moved and sat next to him on the bed, and reached for his arm. I moved slowly and gently so I didn't frighten him.

"Let me see."

Tears were leaking from both of our eyes as he rolled up the sleeves on his left arm.

A strangled sob escaped my throat as I stared at the twenty or so small cuts on my boyfriend's porcelain skin, with blood smeared across them.

"Why? Why Jude?" I wheezed.

"It hurts so much." He whispered brokenly, crying softly. "At least this pain I can control. It dulls the other pain that I feel in m-my h-heart. The pain that won't go away."

"This isn't gonna help Jude." I tell him, "I know what it's like. To need some release. I was the same way when my parents got divorced."

I rolled up my right sleeve, revealing my own self inflicted scars. I only left them exposed for a second before covering them again.

"How did you deal with it, Con?" He asked. His voice was thick with the effort of holding back his tears.

"I had you, Jude. Every time I started to feel depressed, or felt like I had the urge, I texted you." I said to him, reaching up to caress his cheek. I leaned in and kissed his forehead. He fell into my embrace, and began to sob.

"I'm sorry Connor." he sobbed, "It j-j-just hurts, s-s-so m-much. First J-jesus, then the b-baby. What's next?"

"Don't be afraid to show it. Let it out Jude. I can't take away your grief, but I can share it."

Jude started to sob uncontrollably in my embrace. Loud, ear shattering sobs. I heard footsteps and I looked up to see the whole of the family standing at the door watching. Callie is the first one to notice the still exposed cuts. She covers her mouth and turns and flings herself into Brandon's arms. Mariana is the next to notice and she immediately, but quietly, points it out Stef and Lena. The entire family starts to realize the gravity of the situation and moves forward as one. I help Jude stand and the whole family wraps us in a hug. After ten minutes, they let go, and I slowly walk Jude back down the stairs to the living room. I sit him down on the couch, and go into the kitchen to fetch a washcloth. I turned the faucet on and soaked the cloth with warm water. I returned to him and gently scrubbed the blood from his arm, before wrapping him in my embrace again.

"This is one pain you don't have to endure alone, Jude. It's a shared grief." I said, my voice thick with tears, "You have a family that loves you. Use them. You have a boyfriend, who would march to the gates of hell at your command. Use me. Just promise me you won't hurt yourself again. Please?"

I placed a gentle kiss on his lips again. He looked me in the eyes and nodded.

"Okay. I promise."

Nobody needed to say anything more, as the whole family cried itself to sleep on floor of the living room.

This family was a close knit as a family could get.

They would always help one another. Comfort one another.

I would always be there for him.

Always.

And nothing was gonna stand in my way.


	3. Chapter 3: Back at School

**Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: Same as the last two chapters. I do not own the Fosters.**

Connor's POV:

"How is he?" Lena asked me as I limped along side of her through the halls of Anchor Beach. It was lunch time on my first day back at school, the beginning of eighth grade, and Lena had intercepted me to talk about Jude. It was also the first day since I was shot that I could walk without those thrice damned crutches.

Three months since Jesus died.

I looked at her, and heaved a sigh.

"He's healing." I tell her simply, "I think he's just glad to be back to a routine. His tempers a bit sharper, he's extremely sassy now, he writes his own poetry, he likes tinkering around with my dad's old drum kit, and he listens to some violent music, but other than that he's slowly going back to normal. He even started wearing his nail polish again."

"He hasn't cut himself again?" Lena asked.

"No. He hasn't done it again since everybody found out. Kind of helps that I had you lock all the razors in your and Stef's bathroom."

"What do you mean by violent music?" Lena asked.

"He borrowed a few of my dad's old Iron Maiden and Metallica CD's and synced them to his iPod." I tell her. She looks at me shocked, "I know. I thought he was just doing it to blow off some steam, but he actually likes the music. Caught him headbanging and playing air guitar when he stayed over last weekend. Cutest thing ever. Shocked my dad half to death too. The look on his face was priceless."

Lena chuckled a bit as we reached the door to the cafeteria. I caught sight of Jude, standing in a corner with Taylor and, surprisingly, Daria. A nervous bead of perspiration trickled down my forehead. Daria and I hadn't had the friendliest breakup. It ended with her storming from the room, screaming slurs back at me.

"I'll see you and your dad at dinner." Lena said as she excused herself. I nodded to her and approached them with a limp. I made eye contact with Jude, who offered me a wide smile, which I returned.

Jude had grown a lot in the three months that passed since Jesus's death. He had grown to the point he was the same height as me. He had started lifting weights with me every chance he got, so his once wiry frame was now fitted with a decent set of muscles. Because of his refusal to get a haircut, his hair had grown longer, to the point where it nearly reached his shoulders. It was almost like Brad Pitt's haircut in World War Z, except a bit shorter and brown.

He reached his hand out to me, which I took without hesitation. I made eye contact with Taylor, who nodded politely, and Daria, who looked uncomfortable.

"Taylor. How was your summer?" I asked.

"Pretty good."

"Daria?"

She looked up at me nervously.

"What about you?" I asked her.

"She spent the first few weeks of the summer sulking about you. Then she got over it, and started feeling bad for what she said to you." Taylor answered for her. Daria shot her a glare, which Taylor returned with a roll of her eyes.

"I take it you guys didn't end well?" Jude asked me with a quirked eyebrow.

"Unless you call calling me a faggot and storming from the room screaming as 'ending well', then no. It didn't end well at all.

Jude's demeanor changed in a fraction of a second.

He tensed, his eyes narrowed, and he growled. He actually _freaking __**growled at her.**_

God that's hot.

What? I'm fourteen. Give me a break.

Daria took a step back.

"You didn't tell me that..." He said softly, the tone of his voice dropping at least an octave with the promise of a painful death or at least a debilitating injury.

"Jude, it's fine." I said, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him close. I placed a kiss on the side of his head, "I expected it to be honest. I broke up with her, came out to her, and told her that I basically cheated on her when I kissed you while she was dating me. I'm surprised she didn't punch me."

"It was still uncalled for." Daria said softly, "Jude's right. I shouldn't have done that, and I am sorry. I was just shocked and hurt."

"Let's not dwell on the past, shall we? Let's go find a table." Taylor interjected.

We walked towards the door leading outside to go sit at the picnic tables outside. As we were about to reach the door, we heard one of my former baseball teammates jeer at us.

"Fucking queers. We don't wanna see that shit."

I noticed that Jude had released my hand. I whirled around to see him stalking towards them.

"Oh shit..." I said. I didn't even manage to make two steps forward before he reached them. He picked up the bowl of marinara dipping sauce on the boy's tray, and proceeded to empty it on the head of the boy who made the comment. He then casually walked back up to me, before turning back towards them with a smirk.

"I guess you really don't wanna see this then?" He said, and he grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and planted a positively _indecent _kiss on me in front of everybody.

God, I love it when he's sassy.

It lasted for ten seconds before we parted with an audible pop.

Taylor broke the tension.

"Grrr, kitty's got his claws out now, huh?" She said with a smirk that was pure evil. I grabbed Jude by the hand and dragged him outside.

Needless to say, we didn't spend lunch eating.

More so making out against the wall of the school. So much so, that when the bell rang to signal the end of our lunch period we had to excuse ourselves to the bathroom to compose ourselves before Jude and I headed to our next class, which he had bribed me into taking with him.

It was a poetry class.

Just to be clear, I'm not good at poetry.

We sat down next to each other at a table in the back of the room, and waited for the teacher to walk in, which she did ten seconds later.

"Good morning class. Welcome to Poetry. I know most of today, in most of your classes, you have spent the day getting to know your classmates and reading your syllabus. Well in this class, we are gonna get straight to it. I want you all to write a poem. It can be about anything. You can say anything. Do not be afraid to say what you mean, or be obscene. Do not let your work be stained by the shadow of censorship."

I chanced a glance at Jude. The smile on his face could only be described as devious. It was the kind of smile usually seen in monster movies, accompanied by dramatic music and demented laughter.

This was gonna be good.

"You will have twenty minutes, and then you will turn it in. Then I will pick the best out of the bunch to be read aloud by its writer. Off you go."

Jude started writing immediately.

"What are you writing yours on?" I whisper to him.

"You'll see." He said, his eyes shining with the light of mischief.

At the end of the twenty minutes, she collected them. I handed her the mess I had managed to cobble together, feeling proud that it actually rhymed. The teacher sat down at her desk and started looking through them. When she reached Jude's, she flipped through the three pages it encompassed, and nodded to him.

"Mr. Adams Foster, please come up and read your poem."

The glee that lit Jude's face was nothing short of villainous as he stalked forward.

"One thing that gets on my nerves is discrimination and ignorance. I decided to write a poem that was also a rant. This called 'Inequality', by Jude Adams Foster.

All who are born different  
Are oppressed and ostracized.  
Separated by invisible walls,  
They're depressed and criticized  
People's rights denied by the state,  
They're distressed and despised.

Hate and misery  
Whipped into a fury  
Human rights violated  
Religion shoved down our throats  
Our freedom's been desecrated.

All of a different orientation  
Scorned by the whole fucking nation

Discrimination at your discretion  
Equality is in your imagination

The government fights  
For justice for some  
And inequality for ALL.

Makes as much sense  
As a fucking steel balloon  
Our leaders are too damned dense  
It needs to change soon.

It's not a disease  
There is no cure  
People live like this with ease  
And still their hearts are pure

But try to tell this shit  
To the morons we call leaders  
They don't listen, they just throw a fit  
The day they listen is the day they all quit

All of a different orientation  
Scorned by the whole fucking nation

Discrimination at your discretion  
Equality is in your imagination

The government fights  
For justice for some  
And inequality for ALL.

They cite religion as justification  
For stomping on our rights  
Religion clouding government decision

Sanctity of marriage, that's what they say  
What a crock of shit  
Marriage in the world today  
Ain't valued one fucking bit.

Take a look in Hollywood  
Where marriages last a week  
But to those who like the same sex  
Are denied the rights they seek  
Fear of change is what makes this country weak

All of a different orientation  
Scorned by the whole fucking nation

Discrimination at your discretion  
Equality is in your imagination

The government fights  
For justice for some  
And inequality for ALL."

He finished reading and bowed to the class as the bell rang to signal the end of the period. I snapped both of my fingers a bunch of times, like you would at a coffee house poetry reading, earning a nod of appreciation from the teacher.

"You know..." I whispered to Jude as we walked down the hallway toward study hall, "If you put that to a beat, you could make a metal song out of it."

"That was the point." He said, smirking widely.

"You're listening to too much of my dad's old metal collection." I said jokingly.

"No such thing as too much metal." He retorted with mock seriousness, causing me to laugh.

"Whatever makes you happy, Judicorn." I say to him with a wide smile. He turned to me and smiled softly.

"You make me happy." He said to me, entirely serious, "You chase all the bad thoughts away."

He gave me another kiss, and then stared into my eyes.

"I love you, Connor."

My eyes widened... but I didn't hesitate.

"I love you too, Jude. And nothing will EVER change that. I promise."

I wrapped him in a hug, and for the first time in a long time, everything seemed like it was as it should be.


	4. Chapter 4: Birthday

**Chapter 4.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Fosters.**

**AN: I received two requests in the reviews. One was to do one from Jude's POV, and the other was to write one that explains a little more how Jesus died and why Jude eventually resorted to self harm. I decided to combine those two things into one chapter. This chapter fast forwards to Jude's fourteenth birthday.**

Jude's POV:

Today is my fourteenth birthday, and as with all my days now, it begins with me laying in bed reminiscing.

It's no secret that I've been through a lot, in my short now-fourteen years of life. I think you'd have to be like the soldier from the movie _Johnny Got His Gun_ not to notice that. When Callie and I went into the Foster System when I was six, after my dumbass father got my mother and somebody else killed while drunk driving, I remember Callie telling me over and over again.

"We'll be okay. Don't let this break you."

'Don't let this break me'. I would chant that in my mind when things got bad.

I chanted it when I was seven, when my foster father broke a beer bottle on my shoulder.

I chanted it when I was eight, when my foster mother threw me into a bathtub filled to the brim with boiling hot water.

I chanted it when Liam raped Callie.

I chanted it when I was twelve, when my foster father tried to beat me because he caught me wearing one of his ex wife's old dresses.

I chanted it when Connor started sending me mixed signals about his feelings for me.

I chanted it as I stared down Mr. Stevens in the hallway of the hospital

...And I chanted it when I heard about the accident. But for the first time ever it didn't work.

**Flashback:**

We were all sitting down at the dinner table, when we got the call.

Brandon was at his dad's, for his audition at Idyllwild. Only Callie and I were home with mom (Lena). I was texting Connor about something, I can't even remember what about. Probably about the dance competition. Everybody had been impressed by Mariana's virtual dancer.

The phone rang, and Lena jumped to answer it.

"Hello?" She answered.

Her whole demeanor changed, and I was the first to notice. She gripped the phone tighter, she stood up straighter, and her lips thinned.

"Stef? Calm down. What's wrong? What happened?" She asked tensely. Everybody was staring at her.

Her eyes widened. She gasped and dropped the phone. She stumbled backward as if she had been physically struck. I leapt up and ran to her.

"What happened?" I asked her. She snapped out of it...

And immediately became frantic.

"It's Jesus and Mariana. There was a car accident. We need to get to the hospital!" She lunged for her keys and nearly sprinted out the door, Callie and I following close behind her.

It only took us twenty minutes to reach the hospital, with mom driving like an absolute madwoman. We sprinted through the doors into the waiting room and were immediately intercepted by momma (Stef), who led us to an elevator.

When we got out of the elevator, we sat down in the chairs, and momma explained everything to us.

The car had been broadsided.

It had been hit where Jesus was sitting, and he was in surgery. This is the point where I started my mental chant. For the first time ever, it gave me no comfort, so I ceased.

Mariana was fine, except for a few cuts and bruises.

Anna was having labor pains, they had both been trying to help her.

I was the first to speak.

"Is Jesus gonna be alright?"

As if on cue, a very grave looking doctor appeared in the hallway and proceed to approach us. Stef and Lena rose as one and stepped towards him.

"How is he doctor?" Lena asked.

The doctor gave a sad sigh. My heart sunk into the deepest recesses of my stomach.

"There was nothing we could do. The damage was too severe. The force of the impact of the car had killed him. We tried to revive him, but it didn't work."

I was already on my feet, before he even finished the sentence.

I needed to get to Connor.

**End Flashback.**

The feelings I had been feeling in the weeks that followed were what led me to pick up that stupid razor blade for the first time. I had just wanted to feel something besides heartache, loss, sorrow, or grief. Even if what replaced it was physical pain, at least this was a pain that I was in control of, I told myself.

I became addicted to it.

I did it every time I was alone.

But I got careless, and Connor found one of my blades. Then the whole family found out as I finally allowed myself to break down in his arms. He had held me, cleaned the blood off of my arm, took care of me.

I can safely say that I wouldn't be alive without him.

I jump as I feel him shift and wake up next to me.

"Ugh. You awake?" he asked.

I reached over and smoothed his hair down, so it wasn't sticking up in a hundred different directions.

"Yeah, I'm awake."

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." I tell him, "Just thinking."

"Happy Birthday, Judicorn." He said, before leaning in and kissing me on the cheek, "Care to share?"

"Just about everything that's happened." I tell him. He snuggles up to me, and we lay in silence for a few minutes. He starts playing with my hair.

"I had a dream about you last night." he said. "About the day we met."

I smiled at the memory.

"I'll never forget that day." He continued. "You were so nervous. You were this tiny, shy little thing, and when you couldn't figure out the math problem, you asked me for help on it. You were so polite, and soft spoken, that I couldn't help but smile at you. Even then I knew, that there was something about you. Something the other kids didn't have, something I needed in a friend."

"Did you ever think it would become this? I'm guessing, probably not." I said.

"What? Did I ever expect that I would end up falling so hopelessly, head over heels for you? That you would end up being my boyfriend? No, but it didn't take long for me to start crushing." He responded.

"When did you start having a crush on me?" I asked him. He thought about it for a moment.

"Remember when we were playing with the Ouija board in Mariana's room, and you used it to ask your mom if it was okay that Stef and Lena adopted you?" He asked. I nodded, "I think it was then I started to realize that my feelings for you might not be completely platonic. Because I remember feeling unbelievably jealous when Maddie asked you out. At first, I thought I was jealous that you had Maddie, but I realized later that I was jealous that she wanted you." "

"The moment I realized it for sure was when you kissed me in the tent." I told him, "I felt more in that one kiss, than anything else I had ever felt in my whole life. And every time I see you or am in the same room with you, I feel like everything is gonna be okay in the world. You gave me a reason to live, Connor. Without you, I wouldn't be here. You make me so happy. You shared my grief when Jesus died, you shared my pain and held my hand through my period of self harm, and now we share happiness with each other."

He leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips.

"I love you, Jude."

"I love you too, Connor. More than anything in the world."


	5. Chapter 5: Visitation

**Chapter 5:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Fosters.**

**AN: This chapter is written from a review I received asking to know more about Jude's relationship with Jesus, and why he took it so hard in this story when he died, when all they really did on screen time was bicker. I also decided to give an update on how far Connor's dad has come since the events of the Season 2 finale, and also when he accepted Jude and Connor's relationship, and why he opposed it in the first place.**

Jude's POV:

It's been a whole year since Jesus died in that accident...

...And every day, I still miss him.

A lot of people in the family were shocked at how badly I reacted to his death, because all we ever did in front of the family was bicker. He may only have been my big brother for a few months, but he was still my big brother; and while we did bicker and argue, he was always there when I needed him. When he found out I was being picked on at Anchor Beach, he offered to scare them into leaving me alone. Since we shared a room, he was the one who would comfort me if I had a nightmare, or would talk to me when I couldn't sleep. He offered to beat Connor's dad to a pulp when he first tried to break up mine and Connor's friendship. He would play video games with me, and he even let me beat him a couple of times. He even gave me dating advice once, even though it was useless. I wanted to be like him. Cool, confident. He was my older brother, and I loved him.

Today, for the first time since the funeral, I was going to visit his grave. Connor was going with me, to make sure I would be alright.

Connor's dad had offered to drive us.

I have been dating Connor for a year, and Mr. Stevens no longer hates me. Even though he still gets kind of awkward around me when I show affection towards Connor (like kissing or the like) in front of him, he's gotten a lot better, and I kind of like him now. After a couple of days, he resigned himself to the fact that I wasn't going anywhere, anytime soon. After that he started trying to make an effort to get to know me, and no matter how reluctantly, he has changed. He doesn't watch us like a hawk like he used to. He's comfortable leaving Connor and I in the house alone together; I guess he's not afraid we're gonna jump on each other as soon as he walked out of the door. He's gotten to the point where he can admit that Connor's my boyfriend in public, even if he does mumble it most of the time. Surprisingly, he's even capable of making _friendly conversation _with me. (I can already feel your jaws on the floor).

His finest moment, in Connor and my opinions, was when Connor's mom found out he was gay, when she came to visit him a month and a half after he got out of the hospital. That was when he officially gave our relationship his blessing. That was when he proved he would do ANYTHING to protect Connor...

**Flashback:**

The impossible had happened...

I had finally met somebody I liked less than Mr. Adam Stevens.

I sat next to Connor on his couch, his hand in mine, my arm around him in comfort, and both of our eyes wide, locked on the scene in front of us.

Connor's mother had finally made an appearance to check on her son...

A fucking _month late_!

She didn't even knock when she arrived at the house had walked into the living room while Connor and I had been cuddling on his living room couch. He looked up from the movie, locked eyes with her, and jolted away from me. I gave her a once over.

She was good looking, but also not. She had this real sense of unpleasantness about her that sent shivers up my spine.

Her eyes narrowed and she stomped towards him, grabbed him by his arm and slapped him hard across the face. He fell to the floor with a cry.

"Filthy FAGGOT!" She screamed, and threw a kick.

I leapt to his defense, but she swung at me too, knocking me down.

A flash of silver flashed above us, and a dull thump brings the whole thing to a halt.

An old knife is stuck in the wall.

I run, wrench it out of the wall and whip around.

Mr. Stevens is standing in the doorway...

Brandishing a samurai sword.

I smile an evil smile as he advances and Ms. Stevens backs away from Connor. She whips around to escape through the door, but I'm standing there with the knife, and I brandish it in front of me shakily.

"Connor, Jude, go sit down on the couch. I need to have some words with my _beloved ex-wife_." He spits venomously, and places the tip of the sword against her neck, "Listen here, you fucking bitch. If you ever come near my son again, let alone touch him I will not hesitate. Yes, they are gay. Yes, they are together. I wasn't comfortable with it at first either, but it's not gonna change, and there's nobody out there that would make him as happy as Jude does. Get out. Never come back, because next time, I will use this. I know you know how sharp this sword is. This was my dad's pride and joy, and he always made sure it was sharp. All it would take is one twitch, and I could take your spiteful little head off. NOW GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

She flew out of the house at a speed previously unknown to human kind. He turned to us. He dropped the sword, and sat down next to us.

He wrapped us both in a hug.

"I'm so sorry boys. Connor, why don't you head up to bed. Jude, I'll call Stef and Lena, tell what happened and that you're gonna stay over here."

Connor leapt from the couch and flew up the stairs as fast as his injured foot would allow him. I slowly rose to follow him, but Connors dad put a hand on my shoulder.

"Sit. I've put this off long enough." He said.

"You deserve the truth about why I couldn't stand the thought of you with my son."

I sat back down.

He reached and picked the sword up from where he sat it on the coffee table.

"This sword was my fathers. That knife belonged to my granddad's brother."

I looked up at him. He was staring at his eyes in the reflective blade. I held up the knife and looked at it. I noticed the swastika on the handle, and dropped it as if my hand had been burned.

"Dad got them from his father. Granddad got it off a dead Japanese officer during World War II. Great Uncle got the knife off a dead Nazi soldier. Before they died, they told my dad and me to only use them to protect those we hold dear. We both trained to use them. I was always better with throwing the knife. I only ever beat dad sparring once."

He stopped for a moment to draw a deep breath.

"Dad used it only once, when I was a kid. Somebody broke into the house in the middle of the night. Snuck into my room. He tried to... do things to me while I slept. I started screaming. Dad came in with these."

He held up the sword for me to see, and nodded towards the knife. I stared at between them in horror.

"Swung it once. Took the guy's arm off, then he called the cops. After that, I thought all gay people were like that. Over the years, that attitude festered, to the point when I saw you patting Connor on the back at the batting cages that one time. All I could see was that man, and I flipped."

"I would never force him to do ANYTHING!" I said adamantly, "I love him too much to hurt him. I want to PROTECT him!"

"And I know that now." He said, cutting me off. "I saw you try to stop her, and I saw her knock you flat on your ass. I saw the hate in your eyes. That's why I threw the knife. I knew you would go for it."

He drew breath again.

"I know you won't hurt him... which is why I'm giving your relationship my blessing."

I looked at him with wide eyes.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, kid. It's the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But, yeah."

I looked at him, allowing a small smile to slip onto my face. I reached down and picked the knife up from its place on the floor and reached it to him.

He stared at the knife, sitting in my unclenched palm... and he shook his head.

He reached out and gently folded my fingers around it, before reaching into his pocket and handing me a small sheath.

"Keep it." He said. I stared at him in astonishment as he continued, "Think of it as a peace offering. Just promise me that you'll protect my son. You keep him safe... even if you have to use it to do it."

I nodded.

"I promise."

"Good. Now go to bed. I'll call Stef and Lena."

I ran up the stairs to Connor's room. I walked in and sat down on the bed next to him, and leaned my head on his shoulder.

"What did dad want?" He said through his sniffling.

"He gave me his blessing... and a Nazi dagger." I said seriously. He laughed through his tears, and looked at me. When he saw the serious look on my face, his eyes widened.

"Wait... are you being serious?" He asked, shakily. I held up the sheathed knife that I still had clenched in my fist. "Holy shit."

"Yeah." I said, before wrapping him in a hug, "Everything's gonna be okay now."

**End of Flashback.**

I was shaken from my memory by Connor shaking my shoulder.

"Come on Jude, we're here."

I looked out the window at the cemetery. I steeled my nerves and got out of the SUV. I turned back to Mr. Stevens.

"We won't be long."

"Take as long as you need, kid." He said. I nodded, and took Connor's hand and led him towards Jesus's grave.

As we approached the tombstone, my resolve began to weaken.

As we stood in front of it, I could no longer hold in the tears as I sunk to my knees. I grabbed a handful of the grass in both hands. In the back of my mind I noticed Connor sink to the ground next to me, wrapping his arm around me in silent comfort.

"Hey bro." I said to the tombstone, before looking up at the sky, hoping that he was up there and could hear me, "Sorry it took so long to come see you. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. It hurt so much. Everybody's okay now. Everybody still misses you, but that'll never change."

I sniffled, and Connor rested his head on my shoulder.

"Connor and I are dating now. Made it official the day before you died. I wish I could have had the chance to tell you. He really helped me through it. He's the only reason I'm not down there with you."

Connor squeezed me when I said that.

"I've changed since that day. I became a little more like you. I'm more confident, now. I even grew my hair out like you used to." I said with a soft smile.

"I love you Jesus. We may have only been brothers for a couple of months, but that was enough. You were there for me when I needed you, and for that I will be always be grateful. I looked up to you. I still do. I always will."

I stood up, and so did Connor.

"I gotta go. I promise it won't be a year before I come back this time." I said. I wiped the remaining tears from my eyes.

"Goodbye Jesus."

We turned and started walking back towards the SUV, Connor with his arm still draped across my shoulders. I smiled at him and kissed him on the temple, remembering what I told Connor that night at his house.

We really were gonna be alright.


	6. Chapter 6: Daniel Evans

**Chapter 6.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Fosters.**

**AN: This chapter takes place the day after the last chapter, at Anchor Beach. Jude and Connor are in the 9th Grade now. Daria moved to Colorado, and Taylor transferred to another school. In this chapter, I am also half fulfilling a request made by a reviewer and am going to introduce an original character, in the form of a foreign boy who just moved to America. However, instead of it being a love triangle, the OC will sort of become Jude and Connor's collective protector and best friend. In no way will he be romantically interested in either Jude or Connor. The next chapter will deal with them learning his story.**

Jude's POV.

Connor and I were heading to lunch when it happened.

We had turned a corner and stepped outside to head to our favored table when I was nearly knocked over by a mass of black that stalked past at a steady pace. A black clad arm lunged out and grabbed mine, steadying me quickly.

"Terribly sorry 'bout that, mate." The stranger said, with an accented voice as he released my hand, "I wasn't payin' attention to where I was going."

"S'alright." I said quickly, eyeing up the guy.

I have never seen so much black on one person before.

He was completely decked in black. Under the thin black long coat, he was dressed in a black collared polo and dress pants, and black boots. He wore a black fedora and tinted sunglasses, and leaned heavily on a black polished walking stick with a silver handle. He had a black duffle bag slung over his other shoulder. Even his nails were painted black.

"Whoa." I heard Connor whisper beside me. "Nice look."

The stranger looked at him.

"Thank you, I think."

I shifted nervously. He noticed.

"No need to look so nervous, mate. I'm not gonna hurt you, or anything stupid like that. You look like you're about to have a heart attack."

"Sorry, just not every day I meet somebody my age who dresses like a member of the KGB."

He chuckled, which turned into a guffaw of laughter. The tension was broken immediately.

"Nice. I haven't heard that one before. They usually say I'm dressed like a member of the bloody mafia, or an undercover FBI Agent, or more recently an incarnation of Doctor Who."

Connor and I snorted.

"Do you fine gentleman mind if I sit with you? You're the first people I've met today who are even remotely pleasant."

"Sure, follow us."

We walked over to our favorite table, which sat in the grass right under a tree and gives us the perfect amount of shade, and sat down. He sat his duffle bag on the table, unzipped it, and produced a twenty ounce bottle of Coca Cola and a thermos. He opened the thermos, which was full of ice, and poured the drink into it and took a sip after the fizz had gone down.

"Delicious." He said, before reaching into his bag and producing a roast beef sandwich. He removed his hat and sunglasses. He shook his head, his curly brown hair falling down past his shoulders. His eyes were the deepest shade of green I have ever seen.

"So... what accent is that?" I asked.

"Scottish." He said, "Born and raised in Edinburgh."

"That's cool." Connor said with a smile, "I've never met anybody from another country before. What was it like?"

"It was alright, until..." He started to say, but back tracked quickly, "Um. Never mind."

"Okay, well, I'm Jude, this is Connor." I said.

"Bollocks, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I?" he said, "Forgetting my manners. How rude of me. My name's Daniel. Daniel Evans. But you can call me Danny."

He reached out and shook our hands.

We all sat in companionable silence, but I could feel Danny studying me. I snuck a peek. He was looking between me and Connor, munching on his sandwich. After a few more minutes of studying me, he put his sandwich down.

"Can I ask you two a serious question?" Danny asked.

"Sure." Connor said.

"I hope I'm not offending anybody, but are you and Jude a couple?" Danny asked cautiously.

"Yeah. We are." I say just as cautiously, "Why? You have a problem with that?"

"Oh. No. God, no." He backtracked quickly, "I'd be a bit of a hypocrite if I did have a problem it. I'm gay too."

Connor and I stared at him as he casually admitted his sexuality. We'd never seen anybody be so casual about it before.

"So..." Connor began, "How are you liking America so far?"

"Only lived here for two weeks. Haven't seen enough of it yet." He said nonchalantly.

"We could show you around after school, if you want. You could come with me and Connor to my house and have dinner afterwards, too." I offered.

"I'd like that." Danny said. "I didn't expect to make friends this quickly..."

He was interrupted by a loud ruckus coming from the doors to the school.

Connor tenses beside me as his former baseball teammates walk outside, disturbing the peaceful afternoon air, tossing a single baseball back and forth. Danny notices Connor tense and scoot closer to me, and turns to see what the disturbance is. He scowls.

"Trouble I'm guessing?"

"Yep. They've been out to get us since we came out in 7th Grade." Connor said, wrapping a arm around me protectively. Danny growled, his hand slowly inching towards his walking stick.

"HEY FAGGOT! HEADS UP!" One of the baseball players shouted in our direction.

Danny grasped the walking stick, and in one swift movement, rose, spun and swung it. It connected with the baseball with a dull thwack. It flew back at them, smacking one of them right in the face. The baseball thug fell to the ground, clutching his bloody nose. Connor and I stared at him in shock as he rose with a snarl.

"You DARE?" He screamed and stalked toward them, his Scottish brogue becoming noticeably more pronounced and thick, "You lousy, SCUMMY HUMAN SHAPED MOUNDS OF PUTRID HORSE MANURE!"

"Holy shit." Connor whispered to me. I nodded as Danny went into a tirade, limping forward, brandishing the walking stick like a lightsaber.

"What? Ya shocked that somebody's finally fighting back? YOU'D BETTER START RUNNING! 'CAUSE IF I REACH YOU, I'M GOING TO SHOVE THIS WALKING STICK UP YOUR COLLECTIVE ARSE, AND TURN YOU INTO A HUMAN LOLLYPOP!"

The team ran for it.

"YEAH YOU'D BETTER RUN! DON'T LET ME CATCH YOU MESSING WITH MY FRIENDS AGAIN!"

He turns and limps heavily back to his seat at our table. He plops down in his seat. Muttering furiously under his breath.

"They won't be messing with you again." He said angrily, "If there is one thing I can't stand, it's bloody bullies."

"You didn't have to..." Connor started to say.

"Of course I did." Danny interrupted. "You two were the first people today to show me kindness. I couldn't let what they tried to do slide. Nobody messes with my friends. I protect my friends."

"Can you teach me how to do what you just did with the walking stick?" I asked him.

"Sure, I could teach you to fence." Danny said.

"Fence?" Connor asked confused.

"It's basically sword fighting. Dad taught me how. We're both pretty good." He said.

"That'd be pretty cool." I say enthusiastically. Danny smiles at us and lets out a laugh.

The bell to end lunch rings. Danny replaces his hat on his head and puts his sunglasses in a pocket on the front of his coat.

"So... what classes do you two have next?" he asks.

"Biology with Ms. Jackson, then Poetry II with Mrs. Carlson to end the day." Connor answers.

"Cool, I got the same things." He said as he stood up, replacing everything in his bag, "I won't have to sit through Biology without somebody to alleviate the boredom. Shall we head to our doom gents?"

Connor and I chuckled and rose to follow him.

Our duo had become a trio.


	7. Chapter 7: Danny's Past

**Chapter 7.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Fosters. I do own the character of Daniel Evans.**

Jude's POV.

I sat on the couch in my living room, waiting for Danny and Connor to get there.

It has been a whole year since Connor and I first crossed paths with Danny Evans, and within days of knowing him, he had become our best friend. He acted like an overly affectionate, and extremely protective, and loyal older brother (even though he was younger than both me and Connor). Our time at Anchor Beach has already gotten more tolerable, given that Danny's temper frightened off most of our problems (namely the baseball team).

He stayed over at my house with Connor and me the night after we met him, and we learned that he's probably the coolest guy we'd ever meet.

He knows how to sword fight. He knows how to speak French and Scottish Gaelic. He knows how to write sheet music. He can sing. He knows how to play regular and bass guitars, and even offered to teach Connor how to play bass, and me how to play guitar.

Connor accepted, while I declined because I preferred my drums.

Plus, he is probably the most affectionate guy I had ever met. Always hugging Connor and me.

I was startled from my musing as Connor and Danny thundered through the front door.

I laughed when I notice the Connor was on Danny's back.

"What the hell are you two doing?" I asked exasperatedly.

"I bet him 5 bucks that he couldn't run here with me on his back. I lost." Connor said as he dropped to the ground. Danny stumbled to the couch and fell onto it face first, breathing heavily.

"You alright Danny?"

"Give me a minute." He choked, gasping for breath, "Your boyfriend weighs a ton."

"That's just muscle." Connor shot back.

"Yet I can still beat you in a wrestling match." Danny returned.

"Oh god," I said, "Don't start bickering again. I don't want a headache."

Connor laughed and plopped down next to me on the couch, narrowly avoiding sitting on Danny's feet. He kissed me on the cheek as Danny sat up into a sitting position.

"You two are sickening in your sweetness," He deadpanned, "I swear, one day soon, I will get myself somebody, and THEN you will suffer like I am."

"Callie said the same thing last week." Connor started.

"She walked in on us snuggling." I continued.

"Said she'd need to see a dentist to get the cavities we were causing filled." Connor finished.

Danny glared at us, sending us into a fit of giggles.

"And then there's that! The finishing each other's bloody sentences." Danny said with a playful scowl.

"How about this?" I say jokingly, "You don't complain about our cuteness, and when you get a boyfriend, we won't complain about yours. Because we all know that you will be the same way."

"I know I will be," Danny said, "I was with..."

He stopped talking in the middle of his sentence. His eyes gained a sort of faraway look in them that veiled a thick sadness. He shook his head, presumably to regain control of his thoughts.

"Never mind." He said shakily, before standing and rubbing his head, "If you'll excuse me for a moment."

He hurried from the room, Connor and I staring after him.

That was the fifth time we had seen him do that. Every time Danny almost let something slip about his old life in Scotland, he would sputter to a halt and leave the room for twenty minutes, before returning with bruised knuckles, and red eyes. We knew it was connected to the fact that after a year of knowing him, we had never met his family. He said it was for personal reasons.

After waiting for ten minutes, Connor and I rose quietly and followed him up the stairs to Jude's bedroom.

We found him sitting cross legged on the floor, staring at something in his hands. We crept closer, not wanting to startle him. As we got closer, we noticed that his shoulders were shaking with silent sobs.

"Danny?" Connor called gently.

Danny jumped and spun where he sat. There were tears streaming down his face.

"What's wrong, Danny?" I asked him, "That's the fifth time you've done that. Do you want to talk?"

Danny returned to staring at the objects in his hands. He put them in the inside pocket of his long coat and sighed a deep, suffering sigh...

... And then he shattered.

He broke down into sobs. Loud, wracking sobs. Connor looked at me in realization, and I nodded that I understood.

This was the same way I had cried when Connor caught me cutting myself. When I finally broke down after Jesus died... which meant Danny had lost somebody, and was mourning. We kneeled next to him and wrapped him in a two way hug as he went to pieces. We stayed in that position for at least an hour, as he continued to sob as hard as he could.

When he finally started to calm down, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Stef, Lena, Callie and Brandon were standing there watching. I jerked my head towards the stairs, giving them an unspoken plea for privacy, which they honored.

Danny finally stopped sobbing, and we moved away to give him some space.

"You wanna talk Danny?" I ask him gently, "You know we're here if you need it."

"I know," Danny chokes, his voice rough from the severity of his sobbing.

He reaches out and wraps his arms around Connor and my shoulders and pulls us closer. He places a kiss on the sides of both of our heads, before leaning his head on Connor's shoulder.

"I don't know what I did to deserve the two of you," He choked, his Scottish brogue thick, "I love you two like you were me own brothers."

"You are our brother," I state firmly, "In everything but blood, not that it matters."

"Which means you can talk to us," Connor told him, "We can tell you've lost somebody. The only time I've ever heard sobs like that was when Jude lost his older brother Jesus a couple of years ago. I'll tell you what I told him then. You don't have to go through it alone."

He stared ahead for a minute before reaching back into his pocket and producing two photographs. He handed them to me and stood, walking only a couple of steps and staring off out the window into the distance. Connor scooted closer to me as we stared at the photos.

"I lost him..." He said. I was shocked at how haunted his voice sounded.

It took me a second to realize which boy was Danny in the first picture, purely because I had never seen him where anything that wasn't black. He was dressed in a pair of ripped blue jeans that had dirt stains on them, and was wearing a ridiculously tight shirt with graffiti style writing on it, with a hooded sweatshirt covering it. He wasn't wearing any shoes. His hair was still long, its curls gone absolutely wild. He was grinning goofily at the camera, his smile innocent and carefree, something I had only ever seen shadows of in his current self.

My breath caught in my throat when I looked at the other boy.

His arm was draped across the shoulder of a skinny kid who shared his grin, albeit with a tooth missing. He was shorter than Danny, he had long wavy blonde hair that curled at the ends, and he had the purest blue eyes. He was wearing a button up collared shirt, jean shorts, and Adidas running shoes.

The second picture showed the two of them, closer to Danny's current age, cuddled up on an old couch, covered up by a large multi color quilt. The boy was asleep, and Danny's lips were pressed to the top of his head, which was now bald. He was giving the sleeping boy a look of deep affection and care, completely unaware of the photograph being taken. There was also an undertone of sadness in his gaze, couple with worry and paralyzing fear. I noticed that the other boy looked extremely frail and sickly, and was very pale.

"His name was Gideon." Danny mumbled, his voice thick with sadness, "I called him Giddy. I was the only one allowed to call him that, too."

He sniffled, and wiped his eyes furiously.

"These are two of only ten photos of me and him together that I have." He said sadly, "Giddy hated having his picture taken."

"Who was he?" I asked.

"My childhood best friend." Danny said, "My first boyfriend. My only boyfriend."

Connor and I shared a quick look.

"He was my everything," He continued shakily, "His mom and mine were old friends, and she and her husband were our neighbors. Giddy and I were born within hours of each other. Our parents always told us that the first thing we did when me met, at only a week old, was smile at each other."

He turned back toward us, a single tear falling down his cheek.

"We were inseparable from the start," He said shakily, still crying softly, "Even as toddlers, we were rarely seen without the other. We were raised as brothers. We realized when we were twelve that it was more than that. Both of our families saw it coming. We were so happy together. We thought we had all the time in the world."

He looked down at the ground.

"Then when we were thirteen and half," He ground out, his voice thick with grief, "He got really sick. We thought it would pass, but it didn't. So we took him to the hospital. The doctors ran the tests, and we found it w-was l-l-leukemia."

I gasped, and grabbed Connor's hand.

"Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Thas' what they called it." Danny said, his eyes cloudy, the tears falling heavier the more he spoke, "The most common form found in children. They did everything they could. Chemotherapy. Stem cell and bone marrow transplants. I was a match, so I was his donor. Nothing worked. They gave him a month. He fought for a year, because I begged him not to give up. I begged him not to leave me. I told him that when he went into remission, I would give 'im our first proper kiss. I made him that promise."

I started crying, and a quick glance at Connor confirmed that he had as well. We both were finally starting to understand the depths of Danny's grief. To lose a brother was one thing, but to lose a significant other, who you have known since the days of the cradle, and had never gone two days without contact with, was something else entirely. I couldn't imagine losing Connor to the claws of the reaper. I don't think I could survive that.

"A week before that photo of us on the couch was taken," Danny said shakily, barely suppressing a sob, "They released him from the hospital. They had told us that there was nothing more they could do, and that we should bring him home and make him comfortable. A week after it was taken..."

He was unable to suppress a sob, but he quickly regained as much composure as he could, which wasn't much.

"We were lying down in his bed," Danny sobbed softly, stuttering his words, "We had the covers over us. He told me to hold him, so I did. He started crying. I said; what's wrong, love? He said he didn't want to fight anymore. I asked him what he meant. He said he was tired. He said he was ready for the pain to stop. He said the only reason he had clung to life for so long was because he didn't want to leave me. I told him I didn't want to live without him. He told me to promise him that I would keep going on, even if I had to do it without him, even If I had to learn how to live again. I promised him."

He was slowly losing his composure by the second. Every second he spoke, the worse he shook.

"He told me he loved me for the first time. I didn't hesitate to say it back. He asked me to kiss him, at least once before he was gone. So I did. I held him, and I kissed him..."

His sobs got harder.

"It lasted for five minutes. Five short, cruel minutes. It was our first proper kiss with another person, and our first and last proper kiss with each other. I knew that the moment was only moments away. I knew I was about to lose him."

Connor and I rose and walked to stand on either side of him. We handed him the pictures, and he stared at the one of them smiling together. His whole body was shaking, so we put our hands on his shoulder and squeezed, trying to give him some form of comfort.

"I felt him let out a deep breath against my lips as I felt him stop kissing me back," He sobbed, struggling to get his words out through his sobs "I p-pulled away, and I looked into his eyes. I-I s-s-saw n-n-n-nothing. He stared straight ahead, unseeing. I felt his hand, and it was so cold. He was so pale. He-he w-was g-g-gone. The breath I had felt him let out against my lips was his last."

Neither Connor nor I could stop our own sobs now.

"The only p-person I c-could e-ever t-t-truly l-l-love," He said, sobbing his words out, "D-d-died in my arms, d-during our f-first kiss. I starting s-screaming un-uncontrollably, cli-clinging to his bo-body. His p-parents and m-mine rushed in and pulled me off of him. I sobbed uncontrollably for weeks. A month later we moved here, and I still had no I idea how I was going to live without him."

It suddenly hit Connor and me how recently this had all happened, and how raw the pain still was. Danny turned around and placed a hand on each of our shoulders, giving us a watery smile.

"Then I started at Anchor Beach," Danny said, still sobbing almost uncontrollably, "And I met you two. You were the first two people outside of my family to show me kindness instead of pity. You offered friendship to somebody you had never met. I knew as soon as you both asked if I wanted to sit with you, that you two were special. I knew within ten minutes of meeting the both of you, that I needed you two as friends. Then I went agro on those baseball idiots. Then that night, when I came over for dinner, or the first time since Giddy died, I felt happy. I felt hopeful. When I stayed the night the day after that, I knew that I wouldn't be able to live without you two either. You both went out of your collective way to make me feel welcome, and accepted. I knew then that our bond of friendship, our bond of brotherhood was one that would never be broken."

He gathered us both in a hug.

"I never knew I could love two different people as much as I loved him," Danny stuttered, "Even if not romantically, I do, truly, love the both of you so much. You're like the twin brothers I never had. You showed me that it was possible to enjoy life again. And I promised myself, I vowed to protect the both of you, no matter the cost. And I will. I will not lose you two. That's why I'm so protective of you two when we're out in public. If I lost either of you, or god forbid, both of you... I would truly have nothing left to live for. You two give me something to live for."

We hugged him back and we all broke down into uncontrollable sobs.

"We love you too, brother." Connor gasped out.

"We always will." I said to him through my own sobs, "I promise, you'll never have to be alone again."

We all collectively went to pieces. We curled up together on my bed, holding each other, sobbing, sharing the pain that so desperately needed to be release. We cried ourselves to sleep in each other's arms, and we stayed that way until the Moms woke us up the next day.

We were leaving the house to go to the beach for the day when Danny pulled us to the side.

"Wait here."

He pulled out his phone and dialed it. He took a couple of steps away and talked for only about ten seconds.

"My parents are going to take us to the beach." Danny said.

Connor and I were shocked, but at the same time relieved that Danny was letting us in even further than he had last night.

"You know my past now," He said, smiling at us, "It's time."

Ten minutes later, a black Chevy Suburban pulls up and a tall, skinny, short haired man, and a short, rail thin woman in a blue dress step out and approach us.

"Danny, darling, are you alright?" Mrs. Evans asked concerned, "It sounded urgent on the phone."

"Everything alright son?" Mr. Evans asked, equally concerned.

"Everything's fine." Danny said with a wide smile. He turned around and walked to stand in between Connor and me.

He put his arms around us, and pulled us close.

"I wanted you two to meet my new brothers. Jude, and Connor." He said, nodding his head towards us in turn.

Danny's parents looked at us with confusion.

"Jude, Connor, this is my dad Richard, and my mom Judith."

They looked at Danny questioningly.

"Why did it take so long to introduce us to your friends?" Richard asked.

"I know you guys have been worried lately, that I never dealt with..." He started to say, but started to choke on his words. He cleared his throat and continued, "...With what happened to Giddy."

His parents gasped.

"I hadn't even said his name aloud since his funeral." He continued, "But last night, I told Connor and Jude. And they held me as I fell to pieces. And then they fell to pieces with me. They shared my pain."

He smiled at both of us before he turned back and addressed his parents.

"I finally have something in my life again, that's worth living for."

Judith and Richard moved forward and wrapped us all in an embrace.

When I was adopted, I gained a new family.

With this embrace, I knew that I had gained another.

**AN: And Jude and Connor finally learn the sad and painful truth about Danny's past. I found this chapter very hard to write, and never thought I could get so emotional with my characters. I literally sobbed while writing this chapter. I cried at least as hard as Danny does in the story. Please leave a review, with any ideas or prompts. Any kind of review is welcome. Even if they are anonymous. **


	8. Chapter 8: Mall Brawl

**Chapter 8.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Fosters. I do own the character of Daniel Evans.**

**AN: There will be violence in this chapter. This shows how far Danny will go to protect Jude and Connor. It might not be the most realistic thing, but I think it reads good. The next chapter will deal with the family's reaction to what happened.**

Connor's POV:

We were at the mall, just hanging out and having fun.

Jude had went to the bathroom, but he hadn't returned

I was walking to two the food court, two days after Danny confided in Jude and I about his past, when I heard a commotion.

"CONNOR!"

I turned to see a girl from my algebra class running down the hallway at full tilt.

"You need to come quickly!" she said frantically as she slid to a stop in front of me. She grabbed my hand and started dragging me along

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Jude got beat up!" She shouted, "The baseball team followed him here. They ambushed him and dragged him out into the parking lot."

Rage.

"WHAAAT!?" I screamed.

"Danny saw it, he stepped in and went crazy," She continued, "When I left, Jude was on the ground, and Danny was squaring off with half the team with his walking stick! You have to stop him before somebody gets hurt! GO!"

I ran full speed through the mall, knocking over several people. I flew through the front doors and hurtled down the sidewalk and didn't stop until I caught sight of them.

They were backed into a corner.

Jude was no longer on the ground. He stood back to back with Danny.

Danny was brandishing his walking stick in one hand, while Jude held his knife out in front of him, shaking like a leaf. With the other hand he tried to wipe away the blood that was dripping from his nose.

Several members of the baseball team were on the ground, either unconscious or clutching a body part moaning in pain. I noticed a discarded baseball bat laying next to one of the downed players, so I picked it up and ran through them to stand next to the other two thirds of our trio.

"Jude, call your mom. Call Stef," I tell him, "We'll hold em off."

He obeyed, and produced his phone.

Two of the baseball idiots, Jeremy and Noah, moved from either side to stop him, but I swung the baseball bat at Jeremy, while Danny met Noah halfway.

I missed, but it sent him careening back into his buddies, knocking them over.

Danny didn't miss. He caught Noah in the side of the head, sending him to the ground. He kicked him in the stomach, sending him back further.

Another moved forward with a piece of heavy pipe to engage Danny. The player, Jack, swung at his head, but Danny's fencing skills shone through as he blocked the hit, and wacked him in the side of the face.

"Come on!" Danny taunted, looking deranged, "YOU'LL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT!"

Jude rejoined the fray, and was immediately accosted.

"She and Mike are on their way." He said, ducking a punch, and throwing a kick, before slashing out with his knife and sending his opponent scrambling away.

Then things got worse.

I noticed another, Jason, advance on Jude, who's back was turned. I saw something silver, and my eyes widened.

I knew Jason. He was a thug, and a coward, who had spent two stints in Juvie. He was older than everybody else in our grade because he always got into trouble that resulted in him repeating the grade. His little brother Nathan was on the baseball team, and was standing in the crowd with the others.

I ran towards Jude to get him out of harm's way, but it was too late.

Jason grabbed Jude, and put the knife to his throat.

"IF ONE MORE PERSON MOVES, MINIFAG HERE GETS IT!"

Out of the corner of my eye I see Danny grind to a halt. I hear sirens in the distance. I pray for help to come sooner. The rest of the baseball team take off running.

"DROP THE STICK AND THE BAT AND BACK AWAY!" Jason screams. Danny grabs me by the shoulder and pulls me back, as we both do as we're told.

"What're we gonna do?" I ask him, horrified.

"I'll figure something out. But we need help." He said shakily.

No sooner had he said it than a police car careened into the parking lot. Stef and Mike got out brandishing their guns.

"DROP THE GUNS! OR HE DIES!" Jason screamed, his eyes shining with the light of insanity.

Stef and Mike put their guns on the ground and stepped in front of them, trying to talk some sense into Jason. Danny pulled me to stand behind them. I looked at him in time to see him glancing down at the gun Mike had just discarded.

"When I give the signal, run to Jude." He whispered to me. I look at him worriedly.

"What are you gonna do?"

"Whatever I have to do." He said shakily...

...And he reached down and picked up the gun.

"NO!" I whisper shouted, "There has to be another way!"

"I'm hoping I won't have to use it," Danny tells me, "But if he moves to stab Jude... I won't hesitate. Don't worry. I know how to use it."

He put the gun inside his jacket, and lunged around Mike and Stef.

"LET HIM GO!" Danny screamed at Jason. Jason sneered at him.

"What if I don't?"

Danny's hand flew into his jacket and drew the gun, aiming it directly at Jason's head.

"I'LL BLOW YOUR FUCKING HEAD OFF!"

Mike and Stef whipped around, realizing immediately that Danny had picked up one of the guns. Stef secured her gun, and readied it.

Jason's eyes flew between us.

"I DOUBT YOU EVEN KNOW HOW TO USE THAT THING, EVANS!" He shouted.

Danny flicked the safety off, and pulled the slide back.

"YOU WANNA TRY YOUR LUCK?" Danny shouted back.

Jason whipped his gaze between me and Danny, then back to Stef and Mike.

He reversed the knife in his grip, and place the tip against Jude's chest, right above his chest.

"You should have kept your mouth shut, faggot."

He raised the knife... and Danny pulled the trigger.

BANG!

I ran forward and grabbed Jude as Jason fell to the ground, clutching his destroyed hand, screaming. I looked back at Danny, to see him moving towards Jason.

He approached him and pointed the gun at his head.

Jason looked up at the gun, right into the barrel.

"DO IT!" He taunted.

Danny stared at him.

"I should." He whispered.

"THEN DO IT!"

Danny's hand twitched.

Jude and I stood and walked up to stand behind Danny.

"Don't." Jude says.

"He deserves it." Danny says.

"He's beaten. He's done. He'll be in jail for a long time. Let him go." I tell him. Danny looks at both of us, before finally lowering the gun.

We turned our backs and started to walk towards Stef and Mike, who stood twenty feet away.

Jude and I made it halfway to Stef when I heard Jason scream.

I saw him out of the corner of my eyes. I saw him reach for the knife with his other hand, rise and sprint at Danny. Danny saw it too and whipped around, but it was too late.

Danny fell to the ground, and the gun flew from his grip. It landed just out of his reach. He reached for it, and then Jason on top of him. I could see Jason's lips moving, but I couldn't hear what he was saying.

Danny threw a punch at him, knocking him to the side. He crawled towards the gun, and grabbed it. He rolled over.

Jason stood over him with the knife in his good hand and raised it above his head for a killing blow.

A final gunshot rang out.

Jason dropped to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut.

There was a single bloody hole were one of his eyes used to be.

Danny crawls back, and Jude and I rush to meet him. I grab the gun from him, as he starts shaking. I hand the gun to Stef, who hands it back to Mike. He holsters it and proceeds towards Jason's body. Stef and I help Jude and Danny towards the police car. She opens the both of the rear doors of the patrol car. Jude sits on the driver side, Danny slides into the middle seat, and I slide in next to him. Jude and I put an arm around Danny's shoulders as he starts shaking. Stef sits in the driver seat and radios for backup and an ambulance before turning to us.

"Are you boys alright?" She said calmly, but I could see the horror and worry in her eyes.

"I didn't mean to do that." Danny whispered, horrified with himself, "I didn't... I didn't want to kill him. I just reacted. He was going to kill Jude, and then he was on me, and I wasn't thinking, you have to believe me!"

"WE DO!" She rushes to assure him, "You're not in any trouble, sweetie. Don't worry. It's was self defense. The car's dash camera will show that. It recorded the whole thing."

Jude wrapped Danny in a fierce hug.

"You saved my life." He whispered to him.

Danny looked him in the eyes.

"I told you before," Danny said, "I told you after I told you about Giddy that I would protect you both, no matter the cost. I was serious. I owe you two everything."

I put my hand on his shoulder, and squeezed.

"You saved Jude's life," I told him, "You'll never owe us anything again."

Jude nodded his head in agreement. A single tear streaked down Danny's cheek.

"Thank you." he said.

We wrapped him in a hug, as Mike got in the car.

"Ambulance and backup are here," Mike says, "I called Lena and told her what happened. Let's get them home."


	9. Chapter 9: Brawl Aftermath

**Chapter 9.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Fosters. I do own the character of Daniel Evans.**

**AN: Picks up from where Chapter 8 left off. Deals with the immediate aftermath.**

Jude's POV.

I sat in the back of the police car with Danny and Connor, I stared out the window into the distance, reminiscing about what had just happened.

I had got jumped.

I had been held at knife point.

Danny had been forced to kill somebody in self defense.

I shivered heavily.

"Are you boys okay to tell us what happened?" Stef asked.

"I was going to the bathroom. Was making my way back to the food court, when they grabbed me." I tell her.

"I noticed he was gone for too long," Danny said slowly, "Went looking for him. Found them beating the crap out of him, and stepped in. Saw somebody we knew from school, screamed for her to go find Connor."

"She found me, told me and I took off running to get to them," Connor continued, "Held them off while Jude called you for help. Took down most of them, and then Jason grabbed Jude. The rest of them ran and ten seconds later you showed up. You all saw what happened next."

We rode the rest of the way in silence. We pulled into the driveway of the Fosters household. As soon as the car is in park, we all exit. Connor and I settle in on either side of Danny, and he flings an arm around each of our shoulders. We get about halfway to the front door when the door opens and Callie, Brandon, Mariana, and Lena sprint toward us. I step forward and allow my siblings to embrace me.

All three were frantic, and crying hard. Lena turned and embraced Connor and Danny.

"Thank you." She whispered to them.

Meanwhile, my siblings pulled out of our embrace. Brandon reached and grabbed me in another hug.

"You scared the fuck out of us, Jude." He muttered shakily into my hair, "Momma and Dad tore out of here like hell was on their heels, then ten minutes later dad calls telling us it was you three."

"We thought it was you that was killed." Mariana cried, "Until mom sat us down and told us it wasn't."

"We were so scared, kiddo." Callie said, squeezing my shoulder before turning to Danny and Connor, "Thank you for protecting our brother."

Danny nodded. Callie turned back to me, and I could tell the questions were about to start.

"What happened?"

"I was going to the bathroom. I was making my way back to the food court to meet up with the other two, when they grabbed me and dragged me outside. Danny came looking for me. Found me with my back against the wall, and jumped in. I went for my knife. We saw somebody we knew passing us, and I screamed for her to go find Connor. We held them off till he got there, then they held them off while I called Stef."

"How many times have I told you not to run off on your own?" Callie shouted.

Here she goes. I know I shouldn't be irritable with her, but all the stress of the day starts to set in and I couldn't stop myself from snapping at her.

"Do NOT START WITH ME!" I scream back, "Back off! I'm barely keeping it together right now as it is!"

She recoils like I slapped her.

"Sorry," She said, tears welling in her eyes, "I was just worried, I couldn't handle it if I lost you. I barely got through what happened to Jesus. If it was you..."

"I know," I say shakily, "I'm sorry."

Danny and Connor walked up to stand by my side.

"Let's go in the house." Lena said, "We can talk more inside."

I look to Connor and Danny, and take a good look at them.

Neither of them look like they are in very good shape. Danny was shaking almost uncontrollably, and he had a cut on his left eyebrow and right cheek, as well as a split lip and a bruise forming under his right eye. Connor was shaking equally as bad as Danny, and he looked like he was moments away from a complete breakdown, but he was relatively unscathed. His hair was messy. His flannel shirt was ripped on the side.

"Can, uh. Can somebody call my dad?" Connor muttered, "He's in L.A visiting my grandparents, so he won't be here till tomorrow."

"Call me ma and dad too," Danny said, "Tell 'em I'm fine. Tell them I'm not leaving Jude and Connor. Tell them I'll be home tomorrow and to be ready."

Lena nodded and pulled out her phone before going back in the house.

We all go in the house, and head into the living room. Danny plops down in a chair, and Connor and I sit down on the couch. Connor curls up into my side and wraps both arms around me. I start playing with his hair.

Lena reenters the room, followed by the rest of the family.

"Your dad is on his way, Connor." She said, "He was already in the car by the time I hung up the phone. He'll be here in about three hours. Danny, your parents told me they wanted you home before noon tomorrow, and be ready for a lot of questions."

Connor nods.

"Alright guys," Stef interjects, "Let's give these three some alone time. They need it."

Everybody leaves the room, leaving just us three.

We sat there for a couple of hours, just trying not to panic about the events of the day. Then Connor's shaking gets worse.

"You alright?" I ask him gently.

He shakes his head.

"It's starting to hit me," He started saying, "That I almost lost you."

"But you didn't." I try

"He had you around the neck with a knife to your throat, Jude." Danny interjected, "He was going to kill you."

I flinched.

"I know that, alright?" I say to him, "I am well aware of what just happened. When I felt that knife at my neck, I was more scared than I've ever been in my life. Right now, though, I'm just more happy to be alive, and that all of us are alright. I'm trying to keep it together. He didn't kill me. YOU saved me. You both did! It'll probably hit me later today, and you two can help me when I break down."

"Of course we will." Connor said.

He reaches up and strokes my cheek. I look down at him and look him in his eyes. He leans up and kisses me, hard.

In that kiss I could feel every emotion he was feeling.

Anger.

Fear.

Worry.

Relief.

He pulled back and stared into my eyes again. A single tear fell from his eyes.

"I was so scared, Jude." He said shakily, "I saw him head for you, but I didn't react quickly enough. If I'd only been a little faster..."

"DON'T!" Danny shouted, making us jump, "Do NOT, blame yourself for this. It was NOT your fault. It all happened in a split second. The only way you could have got to him in time, is if you had the ability to Apparate like they do in Harry Potter. Do you have that ability."

"No." Connor answered flatly.

"Then it was not physically possible for you to react fast enough. Don't beat yourself up. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty."

"Where did you learn to shoot like that?" I asked him.

Danny's eyes became unfocused, and he did not answer. He stared off into space. A tear fell from his eyes, and he exhaled a shuddering breath. He quirked his lip into a small smile.

"Giddy's dad."

My eyes widened. Even though he had revealed to us what had happened with Gideon, other details about his life in Scotland were few and far between. It was still too painful for him to talk about in any form of detail. When he did talk about it he almost always ended us crying a little bit, even if it was about a happy memory.

"He was a professional competition shooter." He continued, wiping the tear away, "He taught both of us. I was always best at it. I can use anything from a muzzle loader up to a belt fed machine gun, even if I am a bit rusty."

Danny stood from the chair and sat down next to me.

"I probably could have handled that better." He said quietly, "I didn't meant to kill him."

"We know you didn't Danny." Connor said, sitting up and looking at him.

"I just reacted to what he said to me."

I furrowed my eyebrows.

"What do you mean? He didn't say much to you." Connor asked him.

"He said it when he knocked me down." Danny continued, "He said when he was done with me he was going for you two. I reacted. I grabbed the gun and fired a blind shot at him. I didn't think it would hit him in the eye. All I knew was that I had to protect you two."

"I'm wondering. What do you think is going to happen to the rest of the team?" I asked.

"Not all of them wanted to be there." Danny said simply, "Jason's little brother Nathan and his two buddies were some of them. I could tell from the look in their eyes that they were horrified and didn't want to be there. When they scattered, they were the ones who ran the fastest. They'll probably get off lightly. The others? They'll be in a heap of trouble."

"You're damned right they will be." A deep voice says from the doorway.

Our gazes whip towards the voice, to meet the furious face of Adam Stevens.

Connor flew at him at a speed fast enough to break a land speed record. Connor collapsed into his arms and started sobbing. Adam clung to his son so hard, I was surprised Connor could breath.

"I came as quickly as I could." He whispered to him, "I'm so glad you're alright."

He turned his head to look at Danny.

"Thank you for protecting them."

I couldn't help the spike of happiness I felt, when I heard him say 'them'. It made me feel good to know that Connor's dad actually cared about my wellbeing, as well as Connor's. He turned to me.

"You okay Jude?"

"Yeah." I answer, "It hasn't really hit me yet."

Mr. Stevens stayed for an hour and a half, barely leaving Connor's side the whole time. He talked with Stef and Lena about starting a lawsuit against the ones who attacked us. The three of us gladly gave him the names of those involved. He gave Connor a tight hug before he left, telling him to be home by three the next afternoon.

After he left I looked at the clock. It said it was 9:00 pm. I looked over at the other two.

"Is anybody else exhausted?" I asked. They nodded.

Connor, Danny and I all headed up to my room. We took turns using the bathroom to change into our pajamas.

I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

The dream started out normal enough. I was late for school and I couldn't find my socks. I stumbled down the stairs, and walked into the living room.

Blood was everywhere. Connor and Danny were laying against the wall, surrounded by a pool of blood. I blinked. Stef and Lena's bodies appear. I blink again. Mariana's body appears. I start to scream, and I blink again. Brandon and Callie appear. I blink again, sobbing as Jesus's bloody body appears. I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I whip around. Jason is standing there with the knife. The knife flies toward my face.

I awake with a scream. I fly out of the bed...

...And right into Danny, sending us both to the floor.

I stare into his shocked face.

"Nightmare?" He asks. I nod shakily, "Us too."

I get off him and turn to see that Connor was awake too, sitting up in bed. He slid off and wrapped me in a hug.

"You alright Jude?" He asks me gently. I start crying softly.

"I saw all of you dead." I mutter, "You and Danny. Then Moms, then Mariana, then Callie and Brandon, then J-j-jesus. Then I whip around and he's there. I woke up right as he swung the knife at my face."

Danny wraps the both of us in an embrace.

"He's gone." He tells me, rubbing our backs in comfort, "He's dead."

"His cronies won't get away with it either," Connor said, "Dad, Stef and Lena will make sure of that."

"We're safe." Danny says.

We stand there in our embrace for ten minutes.

"Let's push the beds together." I say, breaking the silence, "I doubt moms would mind, and I doubt I can get back to sleep without you two next to me."

"We probably won't be able to either." Danny said.

We pushed the two beds together, and curled up. We quickly fell asleep.

One nightmare was over... but we couldn't help but wonder if another was about to begin. I fucking hope not. I don't know how much more we'd be able to handle.

Then again, with Danny and Connor at my side, I think we could handle anything.


	10. Chapter 10: Harrison O'Reilly

**Chapter 10.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Fosters. I do own the character of Daniel Evans.**

**AN: FINALLY! The chapters are in the double digits. In this chapter, we introduce another OC, who MIGHT become Danny's love interest. This OC will throw Danny and the others for a loop when his identity is revealed...**

Danny's POV:

It's the first day back at Anchor Beach after we were attacked. It's kind of hard to believe it's only been two days, and three nights since it happened. It seems like it's only been an hour.

Connor, Jude and I slept at Jude's house the night it happened, and my place the night after. We slept at Connor's last night. It's almost like we're scared to leave each other's company now. Kind of makes me glad that Jude and Connor's classes are all the same, and that they are in three of my six classes.

Jude hasn't slept well since it happened. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. The bags under his eyes are growing. Every night, he woke up from a nightmare and every night, Connor or I comforted him and helped him get back to sleep.

Stef, Lena, Connor's dad, and my parents felt it would be good if we continued our lives as if the ambush never happened, and to let them worry about it. We agreed. We walked to school together. We walked into Anchor Beach at 7:00 am, just like we had done countless times, but this time it was different. This time, we were being watched. Everybody was staring at us as if we were time bombs with a timer stuck on one second left.

"I can tell already, that the staring is gonna get bloody irritating." Connor growled as he noticed.

I looked at him with a strange look.

"You're hanging out with me too much," I joked, "You're both starting to sound like me."

Jude snorted, before he returned to his new favorite activity: glaring at everybody.

That's one new thing Connor and I've learned about him recently. When Jude doesn't sleep well, he IS a ticking time bomb. Connor joked that it's kind of good to know that after dating him for two years he can still find out new things about him.

We made it to lunch without me or Jude killing anybody. We were all walking along talking. I was walking backwards chatting away with them about a stupid assignment from my French class.

I turned back to look in front of me when I collided with a solid object.

"Dammit. Why do I always knock people down when I'm not paying attention?" I growl. I look down at the poor bloke I'd just ran into. I shook my head and knelt down to help him collect his things.

"That's not always a bad thing." Connor said.

"Yeah, that's how you met us. That turned out alright." Jude finished his boyfriend's thought.

"I'm so sorry mate." I tell the strange boy. I try to study his face, but his blond hair was covering his face, "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"That's fine." He said, "I wasn't watching where I was going either."

I could hear a slight southern accent in his voice. I handed him his books, and he shook his hair out of his face, and I leapt back away at what I was seeing.

Blonde hair.

Pure blue eyes.

Small, goofy smile.

I gasped.

"Bloody hell."

The guy looked at me funny, before turning his attention to Connor and Jude, who were also gawking at him.

This guy looked ridiculously like Giddy.

"Did I do something?"

"NO!" I yelped, making the poor kid jump, "Sorry. No, you didn't do anything. You just look... you look remarkably like somebody I used to know. It's uh, it's uncanny actually."

"Sorry." He said.

"Stop apologizing, mate. You've done nothing wrong. " I tell him softly, before standing up. I reach out a hand to him, "Lets getchya back on your feet, yeah?"

He accepts my hand and I pull him to his feet. I offer him a small smile.

"Thanks." He says, offering me a small smile, "It's good to know that, uh, not everybody here is as unpleasant as the people on the bus on the way here."

"You'll get used to it, I did." I tell him, "These two were the first two people I spoke to. Ran into them and nearly knocked one of them over, just like I just did you."

He laughed.

Good _god._ He even laughs like Giddy did.

I couldn't help but smile back.

"Oh, uh sorry." He said, holding his hand out to shake mine, "The name's Harrison. Harrison O'Reilly. You guys can call me Harry."

"Name's Daniel. That's Connor, and his boyfriend Jude." I tell him, accepting his handshake, pointing to Jude and Connor in turn. He shakes their hands as well, offering them a small smile.

"Are all three of you..." Harry asked awkwardly, "Gay?"

"Yeah." Jude says defensively. Harry smirks.

"My parent's would be pissed if they knew I was talking to you three." He says, "Good to know I'm among friends."

I nod at him.

"Homophobic?"

"Huh." Harry snorted, "I don't know. Does sending their adopted son to the other side of the country to live with his step-uncle so they don't have to deal with him after he came out count as homophobic? If so, then yeah. Extremely."

Connor growled. Harry jumped.

"Sorry." Connor said to him, "Homophobes are one thing I can't stand."

"I should fly you guys out to Georgia and visit them, then." Harry said, "They would have an aneurism if they met you three. I mean, they go through all the trouble to adopt a baby from another country, then dump him 15 years later for something so stupid. They deserve everything that comes to him."

"Yeah." I said, smiling at him, "Uh, do you want to sit with us?"

"Yeah, sure."

We all went and sat at our table, Harry sitting next to me. We enjoyed each other's company. Harry had a great sense of humor.

After school we met up with him again, and Harry called his uncle and told him he was coming over to my house with us. We walked there and I noticed that the place looked empty. We walked inside

"So what about you?" Harry asked me, "You mentioned that they were boyfriends. You're a good looking guy, you have anybody special?"

I froze and stared at him for a second before shaking my head once.

"No. Not anymore." I said stiffly.

"I'm sorry, that was rude of me to ask."

"No it's fine. Don't worry. That's actually why you startled me so much." I confessed. He cocked his head to the side.

"Whaddya mean." Harry asked.

"It's just... well... you look really similar to him." I said, reaching into my pocket and pulling out my wallet. I withdrew the photo of Giddy and I together before he got sick. I handed it to Harry, who took it.

"See?" I say to him.

He looks at the photo, and gasps. His hand starts shaking and he sits the picture down on the table. A single tear falls down his cheek.

"His name was..." I started to say...

But I was cut off by Harry.

"Gideon."

My head whips around to look at him, my eyes wide. Jude and Connor were staring at him, their eyes as wide as mine.

"Gideon Kennedy." He whispered, and another tear fell. He blinked it away.

"How did you know that?" I ask him quietly. He looked me up and down, his eyes widening in recognition.

"I knew you looked familiar." He said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. He handed it to me, and I unfolded it.

It was an exact copy of the photograph I had handed him.

"How do you have this?" I ask him sharply.

He looks at me cautiously.

"HOW?" I ask him again, starting to panic slightly. He sighed, before sniffing and wiping his tears away.

"That's the only picture I have of my twin brother." He said quietly.

I gape at him. I stand up and turn to look out the window. I run a hand through my hair. Connor and Jude moved to stand next to me. They could sense that I was close to a breakdown.

"Twin Brother?" I stutter, "Giddy was your twin brother?"

He nodded slowly.

"How the hell did you end up in Georgia?"

"I've been here since I was three months old. My birth parents weren't very financially stable when we were born, and they could only afford to keep one of us. So they put me up for adoption. This American family adopted me within like, a month. Then they moved back to the States. I never actually met him, Gideon. I never even spoke to him. He used to write me letters. He sent me this picture. He talked about having somebody special. Never mentioned your name though. I was ten when I received the first letter. He wrote continuously for a couple of years. The last letter he sent, he said he was sick. Probably wouldn't write again for awhile. About a year and a half later my step-parents tell me he's dead. 'Good riddance' they said."

I sat down next to him, and put my hand over his and squeezed.

"You were who he was writing to all that time."

He looked up at me.

"What did he die from?" Harry asks. I stare at him for a second before answering.

"Cancer." I tell him, "Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. That's what the doctor's called it."

I reached into my pocket and once again, extracted my wallet. I pulled out the other photo and handed it to him.

"This was taken a week before he... before he died in my arms." I tell him.

Harry choked back a sob, reaching out and pulling me into a hug.

"Was he in a lot of pain?" He asked me.

"Yes, but he died in bliss." I tell him, crying softly. Harry pulled back and looks at me questioningly through tear filled eyes, "He died during our first kiss. I wanted to wait until he was better, but it was obvious he wasn't going to get better, so his last request was to kiss him once before he died. I couldn't refuse."

Harry started sobbing harder and pulled me back into a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry." Harry quietly said to me.

I open my mouth to try to respond, but nothing came out.

"He said in his last letter, that he found his true love, and as long as he had you at his side, he'd be okay. He told me that he hoped I would find that someday too." Harry said, barely holding back tears, "He sounded like such a nice guy. I wish I could have met him."

"He would have liked you," I tell him through my own tears, "He would have loved you. I can tell you that much. He was such a great guy. He was so kind, so compassionate. He would give his last scraps of food away if meant somebody else wouldn't starve. He had a light in his eyes, that I can see in yours too. He really didn't deserve to die so young. We can only hope he's up there watching us."

"I hope so too." Harry choked out.

I sat there, just hugging him, trying to comfort him.

"I could tell you more about him, if you'd like." I offered through my, "I've got fourteen years of wonderful memories of him that I could share with you."

Harry looked at me and nodded, smiling through his tears.

"Yeah. I'd love that. It would make me really happy to have you as a friend." He sobbed into my shoulder, before pulling back to look me in the eyes, "I am really glad that he had you. It does my heart good to know that he somebody so special to look out for him."

I started sobbing too.

"Thank you." I tell him through my sobs, "That means a lot to me."

**AN: Another chapter where I sobbed during its writing. Leave in your reviews whether you think Danny and Harry should end up together, and why or why not. If yes, how should it happen?**


	11. Chapter 11: Second Chance

Chapter 11.

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Fosters. I do own the characters of Daniel "Danny" Evans and Harrison "Harry" O'Reilly.**

Jude's POV:

It's been four months since our trio became a quartet with Harry's arrival. Harry fit into the group like he had born with a place on the roster. His protective, sarcastic nature perfectly complemented Danny, Connor and I. His intellect made for stimulating conversation and debates, that could result in three hour long planning sessions for world domination. He was also one of the kindest people I have ever met, always offering to help if somebody needs it.

Summer vacation had begun, and our sophomore year at Anchor Beach had come to an end. I stood at the fridge watching Danny and Harry interact on my couch. Danny was sitting on the couch, with Harry's head in his lap. He was stroking his hair slowly, looking at him with a soft smile. Connor walks past me to get a soda from the fridge. I grab him by the arm and pull him toward the back door. We walked out into the grass and I turned to him, with a serious look on my face.

"Connor we need to talk." I tell him when we are safely out of Danny's hearing range, and I'm sure he's not eavesdropping on us. He looks at me, a slightly frightened look on his face.

"You're not breaking up with me are you?" He asked frantically, "Because if I did something wrong..."

"NO! I'm not breaking up with you, dummy! I need to talk to you about Danny." I tell him quickly. His eyes widen and he nods, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Oh. Okay. That's a relief. I see where this is going now, it's about..."

"Danny and Harry." I confirm, "I'm worried about Danny."

"You see it too then?" He asks me, "The way he looks at him. The way he is with him"

"Yeah, he's falling in love with him." I tell him, "And he's falling for him hard."

"Is that such a bad thing, though?" Connor asks, "I mean, Danny deserves to be happy, and Harry's a genuinely nice guy. I've never Danny as happy as when he's around. Harry's good for him, and Danny's good for Harry. Maybe we should just let it play out and not interfere."

"I know. I know," I respond, "But Harry is Gideon's identical twin brother. I'm worried that... Danny's falling for a ghost, or something. I can't tell if he's falling in love with Harry FOR Harry, or because he looks exactly like Gideon."

"I don't know, I think he's smarter than that." Connor argued, "He knows Gideon is gone. He's accepted that, and Harry is the one who's helped the most to move past it. He's given him the closure that the two of us couldn't give him."

I nodded in reluctant agreement.

"Besides, maybe this a sign, Juju."

I roll my eyes at the silly pet name Connor had taken to calling me, but I couldn't help but smile at it.

"It's almost like he was sent to give Danny a second chance at love or something." Connor reasoned, "If Danny wants to go for it, and Harry's willing... who are we to try and stop it?"

"I'm not suggesting we try to stop it," I clarify, "I'm just saying, we should talk to Danny and make sure he's doing this for the right reasons."

Connor pondered my point for a moment, before nodding in agreement.

"Fair enough." He says, "Let's go back inside."

We walked back in the door and walked back toward the living room. We stopped short in the doorway, when we heard Danny and Harry talking inside. Connor and I shared a look.

"Eavesdrop?" I ask in a whisper. Connor nods and smirks.

"Anyway, um. I need to ask you something, Harry." Danny said.

"Shoot. What is it?"

Danny sighed a deep sigh.

"Oh god, what did you do now?" Harry snarked.

We peeked around the corner.

Harry had sit up, and Danny was looking away. Danny turned to look back at Harry...

And he leant in and kissed him.

Connor and I had to cover our mouths to muffle the gasps we let out.

Danny pulled back and turned away again.

"I'm sorry." Danny said quietly, sliding down off the couch onto the floor, pulling his legs up to his body and leaning his chin on his chin, "I shouldn't have done that."

Harry still sat on the couch stunned. Slowly, he brought his fingers up to touch his lips, before exhaling a shuddering gasp. He looked down at Danny, and slid off the couch to sit next to him.

"How long?" Harry asked, shakily but gently.

"A couple of weeks now." Danny mumbled.

"I just want to make sure, Danny." Harry said, "I'll admit that I like you. I like you a lot, but I need to know that you like me for me, and not because I'm his twin."

"At first, I'll admit, that was one of the big reasons why I wanted to get close to you." Danny responded, "But after a couple of days, I started to notice things about you that I like. Things made me start liking the person behind the face."

'Oh yeah, like what?" Harry asked.

"Well for starters, you're the most sarcastic person I've ever met." Danny said, startling a laugh out of Harry, "And I love that! I really do. I love having somebody who can give worse than he get's."

"What else?" Harry asks.

"You're so smart." Danny tells him, "Like ridiculously smart. You could probably graduate early with how smart you are. You're so full of life... even when you're grouchy in the mornings."

Harry smiled at him.

"And you're so kind." Danny continued, "Just like he was. But unlike Giddy, if somebody crosses you, you're not a afraid to cut some bitches."

Harry guffawed at that.

"And I like that." Danny continues, "You're polite, but you're not afraid to get sassy. Giddy didn't get sassy. He was polite to everybody no matter what they said to him. You're impulsive, you're stubborn, you're capable of getting angry. He never got mad. You do get mad. And I'm man enough to admit that it's hot as hell when you do."

Harry laughed and pushed Danny shoulder.

"Stop." he laughed.

"I'm only saying it because it's true." Danny said to him, with a small smile. Harry looked him in the eyes and returned the smile. "You may look like Giddy, but underneath, you're your own beautiful, stubborn, impulsive, WONDERFUL person, and I thank God every day that I'm lucky enough to have you as my friend. Even if it never goes any further."

Harry looked at him, with a pondering look on his face under the smile.

"One of the last things he said to me," Danny said, "Was that he wanted me to keep living, even if I had to relearn how. Connor and Jude, have helped me start to learn that I NEEDED to live again." Danny continued, "So I lived for them. YOU make me WANT to live for myself again. Nobody else has done that, but you. My heart swells when I'm around you. I have fallen for you so hard, that I can hardly stand to be apart from you."

Harry made his decision.

He lent in and returned Danny's kiss, which Danny returned almost desperately. I couldn't help but smile. They kissed for about twenty seconds before separating.

"I have never felt anything like I did during that kiss." Harry whispered, "I'd be lying if I told you I didn't have feelings for you too."

Danny smiled softly.

"And there are some people who might think this is a bad idea. That this is unhealthy," Harry said breathily, "But, if you want to... if you feel like you're ready to be in an actual relationship again, then I'm willing to try."

Danny's smile widened to the point where it looked like his face was going to rip.

"Yeah." He said, "I'm ready. And to hell with what anybody thinks. As long as you're mine, nothing else matters."

Danny pulled him into a hug. It lasted for a few moments before he seperated and turned towards where Connor and I were standing.

Crap. Busted.

"You two might as well come in." Danny hollered, "I know you've been eavesdropping this entire time."

"Dammit." I whispered to Connor.

"You should have known that he knew."

We stepped into the room.

"What do you guys think?" Danny asked us, "About this."

He gestured between him and Harry.

"It's not our decision." I tell him.

"No, it's not. But that doesn't mean I don't value my brothers' opinions." Danny said. Connor and I shared a look.

"I think you deserve to be happy..." I started.

"And all the things we had questions about just got put to rest." Connor finished.

"If you two are happy with each other.. then that's really all there is to it." I say.

Danny and Harry stand and move forward, where we meet in an embrace.

"We're really happy you've found somebody to love, Danny." I tell him.

They break the embrace, and Danny turns and hugs Harry tight to him.

"Yeah, me too."


	12. Chapter 12: Back To Where It Started

Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Fosters. I do own Danny and Harry.**

**AN: Now that both Danny and Harry have been introduced and are together, I can return to focusing on Jonnor, as was requested in a review. As a result, Danny and Harry might not be in the next few chapters, even though they will be mentioned.**

Jude's POV:

Last summer passed by fast. So did the first few months of Junior Year. Through it, Connor and I grew closer and closer, as did Danny and Harry. It was good to see them so happy together. We all got our driver's licenses just in time for spring break to arrive. Danny announced that he and Harry were gonna fly to Scotland for the duration of the break, and introduce Harry to the rest of his family, as well as his birth parents. This was a big deal, because before Harry came into the picture, Danny said on multiple occasions that he would never return to Scotland. Just shows how far Harry has brought him.

The day before we saw them off at the airport, Connor announced he was taking me camping for three days. Danny and Harry had immediately gotten frightening grins on their faces and excused themselves to plot, refusing to say a thing when they returned.

Now here I stand next to Connor's old black Chevy Suburban, while watching my boyfriend attempt to stuff a metric ton of camping equipment into the back of the SUV..

"I cannot believe you managed to talk me into this, Connor." I say to my boyfriend, who is busy grinning at me like a dork

"Hey, it's just camping." He shoots back, "How bad could it be?"

"DON'T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT!" I squeak, "That's giving fate a green light to let slip the dogs of war!"

He looks at me funny.

"You've been reading Danny's Shakespeare again haven't you? Because Mark Antony says that in Julius Caesar." He asks me amusedly.

"Actually no." I correct him, "This is one of Harry's."

"You heard back from them yet?"

"Yep." I tell him.

"How's Harry liking Scotland?"

"He loves it. He sounded a bit overwhelmed on the phone."

"Well he is meeting Danny's extended family, and his birth family for the first time, that's to be expected." Connor said, "Remember how nervous I was the first time I met your grandparents?"

"Oh I remember," I say walking over to him, wrapping my arms around him, "You. Were. Terrified."

"I wasn't that bad." He said.

"You gripped my hand so hard, it was turning bluer than the nail polish we were both wearing." I tease him.

He stuck his tongue out at me.

So naturally I started kissing him.

Filthily.

In the driveway.

"Hey Jude... Moms wanted to know-OH MY GOD!"

I whip around to see Callie standing there, here hand clamped tight over her eyes.

"Speak, Callie."

"I may be blind." She says, "I may honestly have just had my eyes burned out."

"CALLIE!" I laugh.

"Uhhh... moms wanted to know what campsite you guys are going to." Callie said, her hand still clamped over her eyes.

"I'll be right in. I want to keep it a surprise." Connor said.

Callie made a lightning fast retreat into the house.

"Aaaaaand we've traumatized my sister. Again." I joke, "What's the count now?"

"I lost track at three hundred seventy two... a year and a half ago." Connor joked back smiling that dopey smile at me.

It's just the kind of smile that _begs _to be kissed off.

He leaned in for another kiss, but stopped just shy of contact.

"Be right back." He said devilishly, and bolted into the house.

"Dammit Connor!" I shouted after him through my laughter at my boyfriends silly behavior. I shook my head, and turned to pick up my suitcase and place it in the back of the SUV.

God I love him.

Connor comes running out of the house at full tilt, sliding to a stop behind me, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"You ready to go?" He asked excitedly.

"Let's get on the road."

"Good, because it's a three hour drive."

"You say what now?" I say, whipping around to face him, "THREE HOURS?"

Then it clicks in my head. There is only one camping ground that would take three hours to reach. It was **the** camping site.

"I know where we're going." I tell him. "We're going back to where this all began. Where we went on our middle school trip."

His smile widens and he steps forward, putting his hands on my waist.

"Now you're getting it." He whispers, "Same camping ground, same plot. We are gonna be camping in the exact same spot where we had our first kiss, and I made my feelings known for the first time."

"And you said you were terrible at romance." I joke at him gently, "You're not doing that bad of a job at it."

"What can I say?" He says, staring at me in adoration, "I have my moments."

"You have music?" I ask him.

"Yes I do."

"Then let the show begin."

We both got in the car and I buckled up. Inserted a CD into the radio and pressed play as Connor started the engine and reversed out of the driveway. We both waved goodbye to everybody watching from the front porch. Connor smiled and reached his hand over and threaded his fingers through mine.

Three hours later, our hand's still linked, we pulled into the camping ground. Connor drove over to our plot, and parked.

"I'm gonna go check in." He said, getting out of the car. I unbuckled, and opened the door. I got out of the truck and walked over to a pair of huge trees that sat on the plot. I stood right in the middle of them. This was the spot. The memory of the night of our first kiss together sprung to my mind. I smiled as I sunk into the memory

**Flashback:**

It was time for lights out, the final night of the camping trip. I slapped my arm, killing another mosquito.

"You okay?"

I whip around to see Connor standing there looking at me, slightly concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I say stiffly.

To be honest, I wasn't fine. Just being in the same room with Connor was hard enough at the moment, but the fact that we would be sharing a tent together was almost infuriatingly nerve wracking.

"I just... uh, forgot the bug spray at home."

"Oh, it's okay. I got some." He said, "You need some help?"

I wanted to refuse, but the mosquitoes were driving me fricken nuts.

"Yes please." I say. He motions for me to hold my arms out. He shakes the can of bug spray and sprays it on me.

"You've been without bug spray this whole time?" Connor asked me concerned.

I nodded, then shrugged.

"You should have said something earlier." He said to me, "I would have gave you some."

I shrugged again.

"Thanks Connor." I say to him. He smiles at me and nods.

Damn that smile of his.

He went first in the tent, so he could put on his pajamas, while I went second. Ten minutes later, we were sitting in the tent, cross legged, reading comic books.

He sighed and put his down.

"Jude, can we talk about something?"

I looked up from my own issue of the Walking Dead, and made eye contact with him.

He looked... unsure. Worried even.

"Sure. What is it?"

He looked down at his hands, which he was wringing together.

"Do you, uh, remember the night that I, uh... snuck over?" He asks slowly.

I snort.

"Kind of hard to forget."

"You remember the game of spin the bottle?" He asked quietly, and cautiously.

"Yes, why?" I ask him confused.

"What was it like for you, kissing Maddie and Chelsea?" He asked me, peaking up at me, before looking back at his hands. I thought about it for a minute, before shrugging.

"It was... awkward. Borderline unpleasant." I admit, with a laugh. Connor's lip quirked into a half smile, but not a full one.

"Something's bothering you, isn't it?" I ask him, and I crawl over to sit next to him.

"A little."

"What is it?" I ask him.

"I was thinking about how I spun it and it landed on you." He confessed.

That makes sense. Almost having to kiss your boy best friend who your dad thinks is gay and has banned you from seeing and then sharing a tent with him. All kinds of awkward.

"And now you feel awkward." I finish for him, "I understand."

"No." He whispered. I turned to look at him

"It's not that." He said quietly.

"Then what is it?" I ask him, confused.

"If uh... if Callie hadn't walked in, would you really have kissed me?"

I stare at him puzzled, because that was the last thing I expected him to say.

"Uh. Yeah. I guess so. It was part of the game. Why?" I asked confused.

He opened his mouth to answer, but closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Never mind."

"Connor." I say to him, "You know you can tell me if something is bothering you."

He nodded, but didn't speak. His silence lasted for a whole minute.

"What do you think it would've felt like." He whispered.

Okaaay, I take it back. THAT is the last thing I expected.

"What do you mean?" I ask him.

He looked at me.

"Do you think it would've been bad?"

"Um, I don't know. Want to find out." I joke to him with a nudge of the elbow.

He turns his head to look me in the eyes...

...And he leaned in.

My eyes widened as our lips connected.

I hesitated for a moment before kissing back.

Now this was a kiss. A proper kiss. This is how a kiss should feel. It was like the world had melted away, and it was just the two of us. I fell onto my back, pulling him down with me.

We kissed for what felt like forever, but was really only about ten minutes. We separated with a gasp, and Connor fell back onto his back. As we both sat up, we looked at each other, and I looked from his swollen lips into Connor's eyes.

In those eyes, I saw realization and confusion at the same time. I saw exhilaration and fear.

"That was..." I started to say, but I couldn't form the words.

"Yeah." He said to me. He stared at me. A single tear fell from his eye.

I crawled over to him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." He says, even though he clearly isn't, "My dad can't find out about this. You have to keep this a secret, please?"

I looked into his pleading eyes, and nodded. He pulled me into a one armed hug, before moving to get into his sleeping bag.

"G'night Jude."

"G'night Connor."

As I lay awake in that tent, I knew that things would never be the same again.

**End Flashback.**

I'm shaken from my memories when I feel Connor wrap his arms around me from behind, and rest his chin on my shoulder.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Just thinking about the first time we were here."

Connor laughed.

"Yeah. Me too."

I turned my head to look at him and kissed him.

"SO," I say, pulling away from him, "What are we gonna do after we get the tent up?"

"THAT, my dear, is a surprise." He said with a wink. I scowled playfully at him.

"I bet I could weasel it out of you." I joke, pulling him into another kiss.

"Fine. Today, we are gonna get this tent up, then we are gonna go for a swim, have a picnic by the water. Then we are gonna kiss some more. Then we are gonna come back here and get the fire started, and then when it starts to get dark we are gonna go back to the lake, and watch the sunset."

It didn't take long for Connor to put the tent up. Only about ten minutes, in which I sat against the tree watching, because if I tried to help I would end up destroying it in an impatient rage.

When he was finished, he went to the car and pulled out a cooler. He walked over to me and I stood up and wrapped me arm around him.

"Let's go."

It was the most perfect day I had ever had, and for once, everything went to plan. Which in our circle is an incredibly rare thing.

We sat on the dock at the lake, our legs dangling over the side staring at the setting sun. The sky was a rich shade of pink. I exhaled.

"This is perfect."

Connor leaned his head on my shoulder.

"Yeah. It is."

Twenty minutes later we headed back to the tent to inflate the air mattress that moms insisted we bring. Afterwards, we went to the back of the Suburban to get our nightclothes. We opened the bag and stared into it.

Or more at the smaller box that had been stuffed in with it.

We looked at each other. My cheeks turned red.

"How much you wanna bet it was Danny and Harry?" Connor asked me, equally red.

"I'm going to fucking kill them." I growled exasperatedly.

It was a box of condoms, with a note attached.

My eye twitched in irritation as I picked up the note.

"It says: Enjoy mates, don't do anything we wouldn't. Love Danny and Harry." I read.

We both stare at the box for a minute. Then back at each other. Then back at the box.

"I know we've fooled around and stuff a lot before, but have you ever actually thought about it before? Actually doing it?"

"Yeah. Of course. I'm a seventeen year old boy." I say to him.

We looked at each other. Then back at the box. Then back at each other. He looked at me with a smirk and raised his eyebrows a couple of times. I grinned at him and grab the box.

"Race you to the tent?" I ask.

"I'm right behind you."

Needless to say... we didn't get to sleep until the wee hours of the morning.

I made a mental note to thank Danny and Harry when they got back.

**AN: Keep the reviews and ideas coming. Every one of them helps.**


	13. Chapter 13: Proposal

Chapter 13.

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Fosters. **

Connor's POV:

I lay on the mattress, my arms wrapped around Jude's sleeping form, staring down at him. His face, so peacefully deep in slumber, was angelic. I give him a gentle squeeze and leaned down to kiss him on the top of his head. I remembered the dream I had after we finally went to sleep. I smiled at him.

Today was a day the two of us would never forget.

His eyes slowly blinked open. He looked at me for a moment, before a bright, sleepy smile overtook his face. He breathed deeply, exhaling a soft laugh.

"That was some night, huh?"

I grin giddily.

"Yeah. Some night."

"We should have done that a long time ago." He said sleepily.

"I think this was the perfect time." I tell him, "We both knew we were ready. No regrets. No fears. I always said I would wait, as you were my first, and I was yours."

"Yeah." He said. I lean down and give him a kiss, "No regrets. Never a regret when it's you."

"Are you still gonna kill Harry and Danny?" I ask him.

"Nah." Jude said, "But I am gonna kick Danny in the shin."

I laugh. Jude had a cute little smirk on his face that he only got when he planned revenge.

"You're hot when you plan revenge." I tell him, "Plus, you know they're both probably doing the same thing, so we can use that, and tease them mercilessly."

"Sounds like a plan." He said, looking up at me. "Should we just lay in bed all day? Or do you wanna get up and do something?"

"I wish we could, because I have a feeling we're both gonna have trouble walking for the first twenty minutes." I tease him.

He laughs and slaps my chest playfully, before nodding.

"Yeah we did go a bit nuts last night."

"Literally." I said without thinking. Jude snorts.

"You are terrible." He says as he laughs.

"Yeah, but you love me anyway." I say to him.

"Of course I do." He says with a smile, "Now come on. Let's get up."

Sure enough, after we got up, got dressed, and left the tent, we both had trouble walking without waddling around.

"We look like penguins, the way we're walking." Jude said jokingly as he attempted to light the campfire.

"It'll get better in a couple minutes." I tell him, "Unless we pulled something."

"Oh god I hope not." He said, "I just hope we can walk properly by the time we go home. I don't want to have to hear it from moms or my siblings. I can hear it now; 'Did you use protection, Jude' or 'You sure it was the right time, Jude' or 'Why are you walking funny Jude'. I swear if they ask me anything about it, I will scream."

"You never know, we still have two days left, and four condoms." I joke at him, wiggling my eyebrows suggestively.

He glared playfully at me, before shrugging with a laugh.

"Maybe." He said. I smirk at him, causing him to roll his eyes, "It did feel Reeaaally good."

"You can say that again... even if it did hurt at first." I agree.

"I haven't heard you scream that loud since you got shot in middle school." He teased me.

I grabbed my heart and gasped dramatically.

"Such words! They wound me. Be damned you're sharp words. How will I ever recover from the brutal sting?" I rattle of dramatically.

Jude started guffawing so hard he clutched his side. It took him five whole minutes to regain his composure.

"Now who is reading too much Shakespeare?" Jude asked.

"Hey, as long as I'm not being forced to read it for a class, Shakespeare isn't that bad of a read." I argue.

"That, we can agree on." He said, as he finally managed to light the fire. "It's supposed stop hurting after the first few times."

"It WAS good for you, right?" I ask him, my insecurity getting the better of me, "I didn't hurt you or anything? Didn't do anything wrong?"

I take a drink from a can of Coca Cola.

"Yeah, it was." He interrupts me, "You were fine. You took great care of me. You were extremely gentle with me. Don't worry. I should be the one asking you these things. I was the one who went a bit psycho. I'm honestly surprised I didn't bust the mattress."

I snorted through my drink, cringing as it went up my nose, sending me into a coughing fit.

"Glad you brought it up instead of me." I say as I finish coughing, "Even with all the stuff we'd done before, I never expected you to be the crazy one in bed."

I reached over and pulled him close.

"It's good to know, that even after all the years we've been dating, you can still surprise me."

He smiled and leaned in for another kiss, which I was only too happy to give. I looked deep into his eyes. I could get lost in his eyes. Such a deep, chocolate brown, so full of life and warmth, radiating love and affection. It never fails to take my breath away.

"It's hard to believe we've been dating for four years." He said tenderly.

"Hard to believe I was so lucky." I respond, "At only thirteen years old, I found the one person I want to spend the rest of my life with. I found my soul mate."

I hug him tightly, just to hold him in my arms. I kissed the top of his head.

"I love you so much, Juju." I whisper to him, "More than anything else on this planet."

"I know. I love you too." He said.

"I know I say it all the time," I say to him, staring deep into his eyes, "But I really do. You're my soul mate, Juju. You're my everything. And I'll always be there. I'll never leave."

He looked at me, raising an eyebrow.

"There is a reason," I said, finally getting to the point, "Why I brought you out here. I've had second thoughts about what I'm about to do... But I had a dream last night, when we were both done and sleeping. That dream... I've been having it for years. Last night, it just sealed it for me."

"Connor?"

I shake my head and wave my hand, nonverbally asking for no interruptions.

"It was summer, and it was warm and sunny. The birds were singing. You, me, Danny and Harry. All together. Standing on the beach, dressed in suit's, hand in hand. All of our family was there. My dad, your moms, your siblings. Everybody was crying, but it was happy crying, and they were smiling."

He looked at me confused.

"I saw our wedding, Juju." I said, his eyes widening, "And I realized... how much I actually wanted that."

"Connor?" He asks, "Are you saying what I think you're saying? Are you... are you proposing to me?"

I look directly at him. I exhale a shaky breath, and nod slowly.

"Yes. I am." I said.

His eyes widened.

"One day, in the future, when we're both ready, I want to." I said, staring into his eyes, "I wanna marry you."

His mouth dropped open.

"I know we're young," I start to say, "Insanely young, stupidly young... But will you marry me?"

He stared at me. His eyes were wide, and his mouth agate.

"When?" He managed to say.

"After Graduation." I said, "Once we're in college, and I can buy you a proper ring, I wanna marry you. All I need is your answer."

He was completely speechless, as I pulled a small box out of my pocket. He gasped.

"This was the whole reason I brought you here." I said, "This ring was my grandmother's. Dad gave it to me when I told him what I was planning. We have his blessing. Your moms know, your siblings know, and they all gave me their blessing. Danny and Harry both know. I wanted to do this in the same place where I made my feelings for you known, the same place where I first realized that I was falling so hopelessly in love with you."

I reached and grabbed his hands and held them in mine.

"I know I'm rambling, I know I sound insane. I know I'm babbling like an idiot." I said shakily, "But I know what I want, and I'm asking for it. I wanna spend the rest of my life with you. All you need to do... is give me an answer."

I opened the box and pulled the ring from its cushion and held it out to him. He stared at it, then made eye contact.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" He asked shakily.

"More than anything. But it's up to you. Everything is, even the date." I tell him, "But I need your answer, Juju."

"We're seventeen years old." He said, "What if later on you start to think this is a mistake?"

"In the course of our relationship, I have never regretted anything that you and I have done." I said, "I won't regret this, and neither will you, I promise."

"November 17th, 2020." He said, "My twentieth birthday. If I say yes, that'll be the earliest we do this. Not a second sooner. Can you wait three more years?"

"I would wait until the end of the world, if it meant me marrying you, Jude."

He looked me in the eyes, then back at the ring. He reached out and took it from me, looking at it closely as I awaited his answer with baited breath. I watched, and my eyes widened as he slid the ring onto his finger.

"Then yes." He said, "I'll marry you."

I grab him in a fierce embrace, lifting him off of his feet and spinning him around on the spot. I was so happy, that I couldn't stop the tears that came. I put him back on his feet, and kissed him like it was my last chance to do so.

Every happy emotion I was feeling was forced into that kiss.

I had my soul mate, and he had agreed to marry me...

...Three years was a small price, that I was more than willing to pay.

**AN: So. That's it for this chapter. Connor's three year wait begins. I know it would be ridiculous for them to get married at seventeen, but twenty is more reasonable. Jude's birthday in this chapter is what is on the birth certificate seen in the first episode of season 2. Do you think I should jump straight to the wedding for the next chapter, or should I jump to the families' reactions to Jude saying yes? Leave a review with your opinion.**


	14. Chapter 14: Reveal

Chapter 14.

**AN: I do not own the Fosters. If I did, there would be no long waits between seasons, and we would all be basking in Season 3 Jonnor now instead writing Fanfiction about it.**

Connor's POV:

We pulled back into the driveway of the Adams Fosters house and stared up at it, content smiles on our faces. The rest of the camping trip had went off without a hitch, and while we wished we could have stayed longer, we we're both glad to be home. I looked at Jude, who was blinking sleep out of his eyes, and gave him a soft smile which he returned. He reached out and threaded his fingers into mine, the ring on his finger glinting in the sunlight.

I can't believe he said yes.

He actually FUCKING SAID YES.

My boyfriend of four years was officially my fiancé.

I stared into his eyes, and got lost in them as he did the same. We were so lost in each other that I didn't notice somebody approaching the door of my Suburban. They knocked on the window, causing me to jump in fright, sending my head crashing into the ceiling. I swore and turned to glare at the person responsible for my suffering.

I have never wanted anything more, than I wanted to wipe the smirk off of Danny's face at that moment with a well placed punch. The glare that Danny was receiving from Jude would have made men of weaker dispositions cower in fear and beg for mercy.

Unfortunately, all it did on Danny was make him laugh.

"OI! LOVEBIRDS!" He cackled, "Get a move on! Stef and Lena are setting down dinner as we speak. You know how they get when somebody is late."

My glare disappeared at the mention of food, which Jude and I sped into the house to consume as much of as humanly possible. Both of us were hungry for something that wasn't cooked over a campfire.

Lena, Stef, Callie, Brandon, Mariana and Harry looked up from the lasagna that they were tucking into when we thundered into the room. They all shot us amused looks.

"Finally decided to come inside and eat, huh?" Brandon asked.

"We heard there was food involved." I said simply as Jude and I sat down next each other in our normal spots. Danny came in and sat next to Harry, giving him a kiss as he sit down.

"Still thinking with your stomach." Jude teased.

"Hey, you ran in here as fast as I did." I said, helping myself to a large portion of the lasagna, before grabbing a piece of garlic bread.

"Happy to eat something that isn't cooked over a campfire, are we?" Harry joked.

"YES." Jude and I said synchronously.

"I know what you mean." Callie agreed, "Nothing against camping food, but having it for three days in a row can drive somebody crazy. When we all went camping as a family for the first time, the first thing Jude, Jesus and I did when we got home was pig out on snacks."

Jude gave a small laugh and smile at the memory.

"I wouldn't mind some s'mores though." Mariana quipped as I took a drink. I snorted and the drink came out my nose and I started coughing. Jude smacked me on the back, and handed me a napkin to wipe my nose. His ring glinted on his finger. Across the table, before I could take the napkin, I saw Danny glance at Jude's hand, and his eyes widened. He nudged Harry, who's eyes widened as well. I shook my head at them before I took the napkin, giving them a signal not to say anything yet. I decided to mess with them a bit.

"Soooo. Danny, Harry, how was Scotland? What'd you guys do?" I asked.

"Hasn't changed much. I gave him the tour of Edinburgh. Took him to, uh... took him with me to visit Gideon's grave for the first time."

"How d'you like meeting your real parents, Harry?" Jude asked him.

Harry smiled.

"They were nice. First thing they did was hug me. We talked a lot. They asked me what my life had been like. I told them about how my step parents are, and they said they were sorry for giving me up." Harry said.

"You gonna keep in contact with them?" I asked. Harry nodded.

"Yeah. I really liked spending time with them. It felt... right. Normal." He said happily.

"I'm glad." I said, before turning to Danny menacingly, "By the way, we got your guy's little... gift."

I look of dread took residence on Danny and Harry's faces.

"Should we run?" Harry asked Danny.

"Nope. They'll just chase after us." Danny answered, before taking a bracing breath, "Okay, give us your worst."

Jude and I glared at them for a minute, before relenting.

"Thank you, they came in handy." Jude started evilly.

"All eight of them." I finished, just as evilly.

"Care to let us in on the joke?" Lena asked curiously.

"NO!" Jude and I screeched at the same time. Now it was Danny's turn to smirk evilly.

"All eight huh?" He leered mischievously, "Oooooooh, you two got BUSY huh?"

At the same time, Stef, Lena, and all the siblings turned to look at us, eyes wide and mouths agate.

"Danny, you will die a slow, excruciating death." I growled.

"Excruciating? Thas' a big word for you. Tell me; how did it feel?" He teased.

My eye twitched as I glared at him, imagining myself removing his left eye with a table spoon.

"Boys?"

Jude and I turned to Lena and Stef, who stared at us with raised eyebrows.

"Explain. Now." Stef said in her police office voice.

"At the end of the first night, we found a small gift from those two in my clothes bag." I said reluctantly.

"What was it?" Brandon asked.

Jude mumbled something quietly.

"Sorry, didn't catch that?"

"Box of Condoms." Jude mumbled, just loud enough to be heard.

The whole table started roaring with laughter. Jude raised his left hand and rubbed his forehead in embarrassment. My eyes widened as the whole table went silent, and everybody's eyes were locked on the ring. I nudged Jude, who looked at me. I motioned to his hand. His eyes widened.

The whole table looked like she'd just received a sucker punch to the side of the face.

"Holy Shit." Danny whispered. "He said yes, didn't he?"

I couldn't hold back my smile as I nodded.

"Yeah. He said yes." I said.

"I can't believe you actually went through with it, Connor." Brandon said.

"I thought you were gonna wait until you had thought about it more." Callie said.

"Are you two absolutely sure?" Lena asked, "I'm happy for you both, but I have to ask."

"Yeah, we're sure." Jude answered, "If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have said yes. I love Connor, and I always knew that someday I was gonna marry him. This just made it official."

"When are you guy's gonna do it?" Stef asked, "How long do we have to prepare?"

"About three years." Jude answered. Everybody looked shocked.

"That was his condition for saying yes. Long engagement." I explained.

"Why so long?" Lena and Stef asked at the same time. Jude looked at them confused.

"We're still in High School." He said, "We don't graduate for another year and a half. I figured that you guys would want us to wait until we're out of high school at least."

"Well, yeah." Stef agreed, "It would be better to wait until after high school. But is that what you actually want?"

"I figured you guys would say we were two young." Jude repeated.

"It doesn't matter what we want." Mariana interjected, "It's what you want that matters."

Jude looked at me, then looked at his moms.

"If it's entirely up to me, then... as soon as legally possible." He confessed. I looked at him in shock.

"How soon is that?" Brandon asked.

"By California state law," Stef answered, "Two parties can marry without parental consent upon reaching the age of eighteen. So if that's what you want, you'll still have to wait until November."

Jude turned to me.

"What d'you think?" He asked me.

I stare at him.

"Is this what you want?" I ask him, "Because if it is, that's what we'll do."

He looks me in the eyes and nods.

"Yeah. It is. I wanna be with you forever, and I wanna make it official. The only reason I said we should wait until we were twenty was because I thought they would freak if it was any earlier. If that's not a problem, then why wait?"

He smiles and leans in for a kiss. After he broke the kiss, he leaned back and smiled at me.

"You two, I swear. You look like the human form of the emoji with heart eyes." Harry teased.

"How's your dad gonna react to the change of plans?" Jude asked me. Everybody looked at him questioningly, "We already told him over the phone. He called us the day after and asked Connor if he'd done it yet. So, we told him."

"He'll be fine. He likes you now. He trusts us." I said confidently, "I'll call him and tell him after dinner."

"What kind of wedding do you two want?" Callie asked.

"Well, we wanted to have it on the beach, but given that it'll be November, I don't know it that'll be a good idea." I answered.

"It's California during a draught, Connor." Harry interjected, "I doubt that'll be a problem. Although, you two will have to start planning immediately."

"Why?" Jude asked.

"Takes a long bloody time to plan a wedding, Judicorn." Danny said, earning him a glare for uttering the nickname.

"Only Mariana and Connor can call me that." He says as he glared. Danny puts his hands up in joking surrender.

"Nothing to expensive either." I continue, "Simple and private. Just the family and friends. The most expensive thing will probably be the wedding rings."

With that, talk of the wedding continued, with Mariana and Callie periodically busting into giggling fits at the prospect of planning their brother's wedding. When my dinner was finished, I rose from the table and pulled out my phone.

"Be right back." I said, dialing my dad's number as I rose.

He answered on the first ring.

"Hello?" He asked drowsily.

"Takin' a nap I'm guessing?" I ask.

"Yeah. Whaddya need, son?"

"I was just calling to tell you that Jude changed his mind on the wedding date." I said.

"What? He push it back further?" He asked.

"No. He moved it up. Quite a bit." I answered.

"When does he want to do it?" He asked.

"He wants to get married as soon as the law will allow." I said.

"So November then?" He asked. "You alright with doing it that soon?"

"Yeah. I'd do it tomorrow it they'd let us." I said with a happy chuckle.

"Tell Stef and Lena to give me a call if they need help planning. When you coming home?" He asks.

"I'm staying here tonight. Danny and Harry are too. I'll be home tomorrow in time for lunch."

"Okay, see you then. And son..." He said, "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks dad." I said, smiling widely, "Bye."

He hung up, and I returned to sit back down at Jude's side.

"He's fine with it." I answer the unasked question.

I stared at Jude, initiating my favorite activity of getting lost in his eyes. In seven months, I was going to marry him. In seven months, he would become my husband. I get a thrilling shiver of pleasure when I think that word. Husband. _Husband!_ I should be feeling nervous, scared, terrified even...

But at the moment, all I could feel was _right_.

Seven months, was all I had to wait.

Seven months that couldn't fly past quickly enough.

I had no idea that a certain thorn in my side would return to wreak havoc.

I should have known, the last time I had seen her, that my mother would cause trouble upon hearing about my plans to marry Jude.

I just never realized how much trouble she could cause.

**AN: Okay, so this one ends with a bit of a cliffhanger. Leave reviews and feel free to leave suggestions. How evil should I make the former Mrs. Stevens? Should she be just a petty bitch who tries to crash the wedding? Should she make a single appearance and confront and rant at Connor and Jude? Or should she be a total nutcase who tries everything in her power to ruin Connor's future? Leave a review and tell me what you guys think.**

**Oh, and a quick P.S.**

**In a couple of reviews, it was said that I should have put some smut in the chapter where Jude and Connor had sex instead of ending it where I did. The reason I do not write explicit scenes is simple. I'm not good at it. I've tried. It always turns out awful. **


	15. Chapter 15: Bisexual

Chapter 15.

**AN: I do not own the Fosters. I do own the characters of Danny and Harry, as well as the new OC's that I will introduce in the next few chapters. **

Connor's POV:

I really, REALLY hate Mondays. They should be illegal.

It's been two weeks since spring break ended and school started back.

Jude is avoiding me.

My fiancé is avoiding me, and it's driving me mad.

I keep trying to ask him what's wrong, but every time I do, he shakes his head and walks away.

"Connor!"

I turn around to see Danny and Harry walking towards me, hand in hand, worried expressions on their faces.

"Jude wants you to meet him at your bench after school. Says he needs to talk to you about something important." Harry said.

"Did he say why?" I ask.

Danny shook his head. My mind jumped to the worst, but Danny continued.

"No, he only said to tell you he's not breaking up with you, and not to worry like we all know you do sometimes."

I nod, relieved.

"Okay, thanks." I said, and proceeded to my next class, the only class I didn't have with the others.

After school, I walked outside to mine and Jude's spot. Jude was sitting on the bench, his legs folded underneath him, and his head in his hands. I approached and sat down.

"You okay, Juju?"

He shook his head.

"What's wrong?" I ask him, concerned.

"Confused." He said.

I frowned.

"Why?"

"Nothing." He said.

"Hey," I said, pulling him into a side hug, "Don't shut me out. You know you can tell me anything."

He sighed, and looked up at me. He sighed again.

"Since you came out, have you ever... have you ever doubted that you were gay?"

My jaw drops slightly at that question. That was the last thing I expected to hear coming out of Jude's mouth.

"What do you mean?"

"Just answer the question. Please?" He said.

"Uhhh. No. Not since I realized I liked you and kissed you in the tent." I answer, "Because of my dad, I tried to like girls, but it didn't work. When I would kiss girls, I would actually feel kind of nauseous. The only way I got through kissing Daria without barfing was because I was imagining it was you. Why? What's bringing this on?"

"I was... at the mall with Mariana on Saturday." He started to explain shakily, "And I uh, was going to the food court to get some mozzarella sticks from that place we like. You know, the one that puts that special spice in the marinara sauce?"

I nodded.

"Anyway. I sat down to eat and wait for Mariana, and I started checking people out. I didn't even... I started checking out girls, as well as guys. And all weekend after that, I was confused. I've never noticed girls before, so why am I now? It's like everything I thought I knew about myself, has been flipped on its head."

"Why didn't you come and tell me? Or Danny? Or Harry?" I asked, "We would have helped you think it out."

"I didn't want you guys to think I was weird."

"It's not being weird, Juju, it's called being Bisexual." I tell him.

He looks at me weird.

"Huh? What does that mean?" He asks me.

"It's what the 'B' in LGBTQ stands for." I explain, "It means you are attracted to guys and girls at the same time. It happens. It's nothing to freak out over. As for why you never noticed it until now, maybe you just lean more towards guys, and never saw a girl that was good looking enough to peak your interest. It's not a bad thing, Juju. It's not as uncommon as you'd think. Mick Jagger from the Stones, and Billy Joe Armstrong from Green Day are bisexual. Angelina Jolie is too, I think. Didn't Stef and Lena explain any of this to you when we started going out?"

He leant into me, leaning his head on my shoulder.

"They asked if I had any questions about it, but I said no." He answered.

"Maybe we should talk to them about this." He said, "If you're confused, they might be able to help."

He nodded against my shoulder.

"What would I do without you?" He asked. I smile and place a kiss against his head.

"Come on, let's go."

We rode hopped in my Suburban and drove to his house. I parked in the driveway and turned to him. He was staring out the window.

"We're here. Looks like Lena beat us here, like usual." I tell him. He hops out of the car. And walks to the front door. He waits for me to catch up, and we both go inside.

"MOMS? YOU GUYS HOME?" Jude shouts.

"IN THE KITCHEN!"

Stef and Lena are sitting at the table, eating.

"Late lunch?" I ask.

"Yep. Didn't get to eat lunch today." Lena answered, "Couple of students got into a fight at lunch, and I spent the whole period dealing with it."

"Can, uh... Can we talk?" Jude asked. Stef and Lena noticed how seriously he said it, and immediately tensed.

"What's wrong, honey?" Lena asked.

Jude heaved a sigh.

"I, uh... I have some things I wanna ask. Things that I should've asked a long time ago, when Connor and I first got together. Things you guys offered to tell me."

"Oh. Okay, yeah. We'd be glad to help." Lena said, "What's wrong?"

"When Connor and I got together, I thought for sure that I was gay. I knew I liked guys, I knew I liked Connor. I thought I knew what I was. But on Saturday, when I was at the mall with Mari... something happened, and..."

He took a deep breath.

"I think... I think I may be Bisexual." Jude said.

Stef and Lena looked at him with wide eyes, obviously not expecting Jude to say that.

"Are you sure?" Lena asked.

"Yeah. I think I am." He said, "I've been dwelling on it for days. I didn't even know the word for it until Connor said it while we were talking after school at our bench. I realized how little I actually know about this kind of thing, and you two said that if I ever had any questions that I could come to you."

"What questions do you have?" Stef asked.

"Connor mentioned 'LGBTQ'. I'm assuming that it's an abbreviation for something?" He asked.

"It stands for 'Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer'." I said before Lena and Stef got the chance. Jude stared at me in horror at the last word, "Not everybody uses that word as an insult, Juju. Some people use it to say that they don't identify as gay, straight or bisexual."

"Oh. Okay." He said, "What does transgender mean?"

Lena answered this time.

"It's basically what it's called when somebody is born as one thing, but feels like they are another."

Jude just looked confused.

"If you were born a boy, but you identify yourself as a girl, then you're transgender." I explained to him. He nodded his understanding.

"Okay, I think I get it." He said slowly.

"What exactly happened at the mall?" Lena asked.

"I was sitting in the food court, eating mozzarella sticks, and there was this girl standing in line at the ice cream stand. She was... gorgeous. She had blond hair, and her body was... uh, well, you know what I mean. Mariana showed up a couple of minutes later and we went home. I dwelt on it all weekend, and I told Connor about it before we came home today."

"Are you gonna tell Harry and Danny about this?" Stef asked. Jude nodded.

"Yeah. I'll text them and tell them I need to talk to them, tell them to meet us at the diner." He said, "Can you tell B, Mari, and Callie for me while we're out? So I don't have to do this twice?"

They nodded.

"Sure, sweetie." Stef said.

Jude and I stood up and walked back to the Suburban again, while Jude fired off a text to the others that he need them to meet us.

They were already at the diner when we got there. We went inside and walked over to their table and sat down. We ordered our food and sat in silence for a moment before Harry broke the silence.

"What did you need, Jude?" Harry asked.

"I need to tell you guys something."

"Oh god." Danny said.

"What?" I asked him.

"Last time I heard those words spoken like that, my boyfriend was diagnosed with cancer."

"It's nothing like that." I assure him.

"I just realized something, that I figured you guys deserved to know." He said.

"What is it?" Danny asked.

"I'm bisexual."

Danny raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, didn't expect that." He said, "If I had to bet on any of us turning out to be Bi, it would have been Connor."

"How did ya figure that out?" Harry asked.

"He caught himself checking some blond chick out at the mall on Saturday." I answer.

Danny and Harry started laughing.

"Five bucks said he started drooling like he always does when he checks somebody out." Danny chuckled.

Jude glared at him.

"I do not drool." He said irritably.

"Yes you do. You do it every time you see me with my shirt off." I tease him. He snorts and smacks me on the shoulder.

"Shut up." He laughs.

Our food arrived and we all tucked in happily.

It didn't stay that way...

As we were getting up to leave, the door to the diner opened.

I froze, and the other three closed in around me.

In the door stood a tall woman, with brown hair, and cold blue eyes that could freeze water into ice. A woman I had wished I would never see again. We made eye contact, and her eyes narrowed and she sneered.

"Pity. If I had known the kind of filth that dined here, I would have went somewhere else."

I growled at her.

This is one woman I can safely say I hated with every fiber of my being, and the only person on the planet who Jude professed to hating.. A woman who I had fantasies of drowning in pools of sulfuric acid, or bashing her face in with a shovel, or driving a giant ten ton bulldozer over her screaming body.

"Hello... mother."

**AN: Enter the bitch. What kind of hell will she raise? Only time will tell.**


	16. Chapter 16: The Witch Returns

Chapter 16.

**AN: I do not own the Fosters. I do own the characters of Danny and Harry.**

Danny's POV:

My eyes widened when I heard Connor growl those two words, and Harry and I grabbed a hold of his shoulders to prevent him from leaping on her and clawing her eyes out. We both knew that there was only one person on the planet that Connor absolutely despised, and that was Danielle Stevens. Connor was glaring at her with a look that promised a painful death, involving flames and repeatedly smashing a heavy blunt object into her head.

But the thing that surprised me the most was Jude.

He looked, well, evil.

The look on his face was so filled with hatred, anger, fury, and rage, that I expected his eyes to turn gold like the Sith in Star Wars. He looked like the only thing that would make him happy would be to draw his knife and replace it in her eye socket.

I knew that if it came to blows, it would take more than Harry and I to hold the two back. I produced my phone, and snapped of a text to Connor's dad.

"Connor's Mom is at the diner. Hurry before it gets messy."

"Enjoying the day out before fucking the boy toy are we?" She sneered.

Now I see why they hate her. Connor clenched his fists.

"I'm surprised you're out in public. I thought vampires couldn't go outside when the sun was out?" Jude sneered venomously.

"Coming from a couple of blood sucking queers? That's rich."

"Can't even make a full comeback of your own? Got to recycle part of mine?" Jude snarled, looking thoroughly deranged, "If you wanted a good comeback, all you'd have to do is wipe it off your moms chin!"

"Watch your mouth, you filthy faggot." She screeched.

"If I ate a bowl of alphabet soup, I could shit a better comeback that that." Connor threw back at her in a deadpan voice, "What's it like to have a brain that feels as good as brand new? Since it's obvious you never use it."

I snorted. I forgot how sassy the two of them could get.

"Besides, only three of us are gay, you bigoted, medieval, pubic lice infested cunt." Harry said, entering the verbal melee, "Jude's bi."

"Oh great. He's even more of a pervert than I thought." She sneered, "People like you should have drowned at birth."

Oh shit, that was the wrong thing to say bitch.

Connor snapped.

He reached around and snatched Jude's knife from its holster on his right hip. He broke free from our grip and advanced. He slashed out with it, barely missing his target. The three of us tackled him, and pulled him back.

"If I EVER!" He screamed, "HEAR YOU TALK ABOUT MY FIANCE LIKE THAT AGAIN, I WILL FEED YOU YOUR SMALL FUCKING INTESTINE!"

Her face turned a interesting shade of purple when she heard the word 'fiancé'.

"You are MARRYING this demon spawn?" She screeched. I clutched my ears to shield them from the unholy sound.

"Yeah I am. In November." Connor said smugly, savoring the displeasure radiating off of the demented woman.

"Not if I have anything to say about it." She sneered.

"Well I guess it's good that YOU DON'T GET A FUCKING SAY THEN, ISN'T IT?" Connor screamed at her, "We'll both be eighteen by then. You won't be able to stop me."

"Shouldn't you be getting home? I bet Satan is worrying about where his lapdog is." Jude interjected, the pitch of his voice warped by hatred, "Tell me, have you met Hitler down there yet? I suspect you must get along with him great. But you have three ways with him and Eva every other day, huh?"

"Watch your back, you filthy abomination. It'd be a pity if you suffered an... accident before your filthy faggot wedding."

A soft click echoed through the diner, and a throat cleared. My eyes snapped up to meet Connor's dad, who was standing right behind Danielle, with a revolver drawn. His eyes were narrowed at her and filled with rage, and it was clear he'd heard the threat.

"Hello Danielle." He snarled. She tensed, and whipped around. Her gaze was met by the barrel of a revolver placed right between her eyes.

"I thought I told you never to go near my son again?" He whispered, his voice loaded with poison.

"Adam." She said stiffly, "I had no idea these cretin were here. If I had I would have steered well clear."

"You're calling US cretin?" Harry said, astonished, "Why you fucking arrogant little bitch! The pot calling the cattle black springs to mind."

"That's enough boys. Let me take care of this." Adam commanded softly, before returning his gaze to Danielle, "We'll settle this the old fashioned way. The way dad used to."

He pulled a dollar coin from his pocket. One side was scratched, one side was clean.

"We'll go by chance." He sneered.

Huh. Who knew Connor's dad had a taste for the theatrics? Maybe he and Connor are more alike than I always thought.

"A random toss, a 50/50 chance of living or a .357 magnum in the middle of your forehead."

He flipped the coin. It twirled through the air, before plopping into his hand. He clenched his fist.

"Heads, I don't pull the trigger. Tails... not so lucky."

He opened his hand, and held up the coin.

It was tails. He pointed the revolver at her head. I closed my eyes and waited for the boom.

*Click*

I opened one eye to see Adam smirking evilly at his cowering ex wife.

"Get out. Next time, I might actually remember to put a bullet in the cylinder. If I ever see you again... you know what'll happened."

Danielle fled the restaurant as if the hounds of hell itself were on her heals.

"Remind me never to piss the three of you off." Harry and I joked at Connor, Jude and Adam.

Jude and Adam smirked, but Connor made no notice of my comment. He was staring out the door, shaking. He let out a shaky breath, that turned to a shuddering sob. Jude wrapped him in a hug.

"It's okay, Connor," He whispered, "She's gone. We're okay. I know it hurts to hear her say those things. Let it out."

"If I ever see her again..." Connor said stonily after he stopped sobbing, "I'm gonna kill her."

"Don't talk like that." Jude said sharply.

"SHE THREATENED YOU!" Connor shouted.

"DON'T STOOP TO HER LEVEL, THEN!" Jude shouted back, "Dammit Connor, you have to be smarter than that. FILE A RESTRAINING ORDER! Or, do what Callie did with Liam. Get her arrested."

"I just hate her so much," Connor croaked, "She's my mother. She's supposed to love me. WHY DOES SHE HATE ME SO FUCKING MUCH?"

"Because she's a spiteful, overly controlling, bigoted, arrogant, downright unpleasant, cruel woman who wouldn't recognize something good if it danced the tarantella naked in front of her?" Harry answered flippantly. We all looked at him funny, before snorting back a laugh.

"What did you just say?" Connor asked, "I'll have to write that one down."

"Hey, it did its job." Harry said, "It got a laugh out of you."

Connor separated from Jude and walked over to his dad, allowing Adam to wrap him in a hug.

"Glad you showed up when you did," Connor said, "That was about to get messy."

"Yeah, no kidding." Adam answered, "You might wanna think about getting security for the wedding."

Connor pulled out of the hug, and smirked at his dad.

"Yeah... you've been reading my old comic books again haven't you?" Connor joked quietly.

"What makes you think that?" Adam asked.

"The coin flip thing. Two-Face from Batman does that."

"Well it worked didn't it?" Adam said bluntly. Connor nodded with a laugh.

"I always knew I got my dramatic flair from you and not her." Connor joked, verbalizing my thought from a few minutes ago and causing my to snort.

"C'mon, let's get out of here." Adam said, "Connor, be home before dark."

"Okay dad." He said in response.

We all left the diner and headed to Jude's place.

The whole way there, Connor had this peculiar look on his face.

He was planning something...

...And I dread to find out what it is.


	17. Chapter 17: Harry's Past

Chapter 17.

**AN: I do not own the Fosters. I do own the characters Danny Evans, Harry O'Reilly, and any other original characters i chose to introduce.**

Jude's POV:

We all hid out at my place until Connor's dad sent us the all clear. The cops had arrived at the diner about thirty seconds after we had all left. We were all sitting at the table on the back porch, thinking about what an interesting day it had been.

"I can't believe her." Danny said quietly, "You both told me she was unpleasant. I never realized how little you were truly exaggerating."

"I've told you guys the story about how I got shot right?" Connor asked Danny and Harry.

"Yeah." They both said.

"It took her a month to come and see if I was okay," He continued, "And when she did, she walked in on me and Jude cuddling on the couch. Tried to beat me. She got a few kicks in before Dad came in and threw a knife at her and threatened her with his old samurai sword. Then he gave the knife to Jude."

"I always wondered where he got that knife." Harry said.

"He gave it to me as a peace offering." I said, "A show of acceptance of Connor's relationship with me."

Connor's mouth quirked into a smile so small that it was barely visible, and it faded quickly into a look that made me nervous. It was a look he only wore when he was planning something.

"What are you planning Connor?" I asked bluntly.

He jumped and looked at me funny.

"What do you mean, Juju?" He asked, feigning innocence.

"You're planning something, I can tell. Spill." I said shortly.

Connor sighed and rubbed his eyes. I noticed that his eyes were full of worry.

"What if she tries something?" He asks shakily, "What if she tries to carry out her threat? I can't let you get hurt, Jude."

"Do you think she would?" Harry asked.

"SHE'S A PSYCHOTIC BITCH!" Connor shouted, "OF COURSE SHE WOULD!"

I slammed my clenched fist down on the table, and Connor flinched.

"That's enough!" I said sternly.

"No, it's not enough!" Connor shot back, "Since I came out, she's done nothing but try to ruin things for me! It'll be enough, when she's in fucking JAIL!"

"Connor, calm down!" Harry said worriedly.

Connor jumped out of his chair and started pacing. He started to go into a bit of a meltdown.

"I know what she'd do to me if she had the chance!" Connor continued ranting paying no mind to our pleas for it to cease, "I've heard it straight from her mouth! If she got a hold of Jude... there's no telling what she'd do!"

I could see my siblings standing at the back door watching. Callie, Mariana and Brandon all had murder in their eyes as she listened to Connor's rant. I had a sudden vision of Brandon strangling Danielle Stevens with a length of piano wire while Mariana force fed her nail polish and Callie wailed on her with a baseball bat.

God, I'm demented sometimes. I turned back to Connor's rant.

"She never liked Jude, even back when we were just becoming friends! She would always make snide comments about how I shouldn't be friends with somebody who is, according to her, and I quote: a poor, broken, damaged, freakish, runt of a boy who should have been drowned at birth!"

Okay. That hurt a bit, even if it had been true at the time. Well, minus the drowned at birth part.

It suddenly dawned on me just how good of an actress Mrs. Stevens was. I had met her before Connor's dad divorced her, and she had seemed pleasant towards me at the time.

"What do you suggest?" I ask.

"We have to be careful. Watch our backs. And I think we should consider what dad said about hiring security for the wedding." He said, "Also, unless we are at school, I want you to carry your knife at all times."

I nodded.

"As long as you aren't planning something stupid, then I can agree to that." I said, narrowing my eyes, "You aren't planning something stupid, are you?"

He shook his head.

"No, I swear." He stated.

My mind drifted back to something Connor had just let slip.

"What did she say she would do to you?" I ask suddenly. Connor turned to me, his eyes full of tears of anger and sadness.

"And after she found out about me and you, she tried to get custody of me back." Connor revealed.

"You never told me that!" I said.

"I know, I didn't want to worry you." Connor said, "Anyway, she came over to the house the day after somebody arrived to serve dad the papers. Dad sent me upstairs, but I hid at the top of the stairs. I heard everything."

"What were they planning to do Connor?"

We all turned to see the siblings approaching us. It was Mariana who had spoke.

"Do you mind if we join you guys? We couldn't help but overhear," Callie continued, "We could hear Connor's shouting from upstairs."

Connor nodded, and they all sat down.

"She said that if she got custody of me, she was taking me away from California, and she was gonna..."

"Gonna what?" Harry asked, as he picked up his unopened can of Coke.

Connor stared at me.

"It's not important. She didn't get custody of me. The courts wouldn't even hear the case." He said, trying to avoid the subject.

"Connor, just tell us what she was gonna do!" I snapped, kind of irritated that he had hidden this from me for so long.

"She was... she was gonna send me to a conversion therapy camp." Connor whimpered.

I leapt out of my chair and rushed to wrap him in a hug. Callie and Mariana gasped, while Danny and Brandon began swearing loudly. After twenty seconds, I heard a loud pop and a crunch and we all turned to look at Harry.

Harry had crushed the full, unopened soda can in his hands.

We all looked at him with wide eyes.

His eyes were wide, unfocused and wild. He was visibly trembling. His head made a violent twitching motion.

"Oh damn." I swore.

He was having an episode. Slowly, Connor and I made our way around the table to stand by Danny.

We had only seen Harry do this once before, and that one only lasted for a few moments, but this one... this one seemed worse.

"Harry?" Danny asked softly.

"nooo." Harry whispered shakily, shaking his head slowly.

"Harry?" Connor asked, reaching out and touching his shoulder.

Harry's eyes went even wider with panic, and he screamed. He shot out of his chair, tumbling to the ground. He crawled backwards and his back until his back was against the wall of the house. He fell onto his side and curled up into the fetal position, gasping for breath. He gripped his head and pulled at his hair. Danny ran to his side and rubbed his back slowly.

"Calm down, Harry. You need to calm down. You're gonna make yourself sick." Danny said to him calmly, trying to calm him down.

I shot Connor a troubled look, which he returned with a look of confusion. Danny pulled him into a sitting position and wrapped his arms around Harry's shivering form.

Ten minutes later, Harry started to calm down enough to speak coherent sentences.

"Help me to the chair." He whispered brokenly.

Danny picked him up and carried him back to his chair, bridal style. Connor and I returned to our chairs as well.

"You okay now?" I asked Harry.

"Sorry 'bout that." He muttered, staring at the table.

"You never have to apologize to us." Danny said gently, rubbing comforting circles on his back.

"Why did you react so badly?" Connor asked.

Harry gave a dry chuckle. It was an alien sound to hear coming from him. It held no warmth, no humor, no happiness. It held only hatred, sadness, and buried pain. He turned to look at Connor.

"You're so lucky, that you will never have to see the inside of one of those fucking camps." He said emotionlessly. He paused for a moment before continuing.

"One of us is enough."

Oh. Fuck. No.

"What?" I growled.

"That's why my step parents sent me out here in the first place. The place they sent me to didn't work." He said, with a very faint air of sadistic pleasure tinting his voice at the motion of pissing off his adoptive parents.

Danny stared at him in unconcealed horror.

"You have no idea what they do in those places. The methods they used." Harry said, his voice slowly turning from a whimper to a snarl as he spoke, "They tried to do and exorcism on me, to _cast out the homosexual demon that gripped my soul_. They tried hypnosis, the fucking imbeciles. Forcing us to pray to god for deliverance for hours on end. When all else failed, they used electroconvulsive therapy on me."

Everybody gasped, but nobody stopped him from continuing. It was clear that he need to get this out.

"Yeah. They would drag me out of bed at five in the morning and strap me into a chair, stick needles into my fingers, and they'd show me pictures of men in explicit positions while shocking me until I could barely form a coherent thought. Eventually I just started telling them what they wanted to hear, and they pronounced me cured. When I got home, I told my parents it didn't work, and the next day I'm on a plane to San Diego. And good fucking riddance to them."

Danny wrapped him in a hug.

"I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Harry told him, "None of you do. You guys have given me the family I deserve, and through Danny, I met my biological parents."

I gave us all a smile. I was comforted to see that it had some of its old warmth back.

"Besides, I received some good news yesterday." Harry continued, "I will only have to go back to Georgia once, and then that chapter of my life is over."

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"My adopted parents have effectively tortured me, then abandoned me." Harry explained, "I told my biological parents what they did when I talked to them during our weekly Skype call. They are trying to get custody of me back, but in order to do that, they'll have to go to Georgia and get the abandonment papers signed. If everything works out, they told me they are gonna move here, and I'll be back with them by the time Spring Break starts next year."

"We'll go with you to Georgia." Danny promised.

I nodded my agreement.

"Hell yeah we will," Connor said, "I wanna give those bastards a piece of my mind."

"Not too big a piece, I hope?" Harry joked softly, "Otherwise there won't be anything left for you to use."

We all chuckled softly. If Harry was okay enough to make a joke out Connor's mental wellbeing, then he was gonna be fine.

Or at least I hoped it would be.

We've all been through a lot in our short time on this Earth. Too much. I don't know if any of us could handle another big loss or shock. Especially Danny or Harry. We'd all finally gotten to a place in our lives where everything seems to be looking up and going right...

...If something happens to mess that up, I'm afraid it'll be the death of us.

**AN: All my original characters have multiple secrets about their pasts. Harry's is finally revealed. The methods of conversion therapy used in this chapter are taken from an article in the Huffington Post. It can be found at: 2011/10/31/11-conversion-therapy-methods-curing-homosexuality_n_ . Also, I don't know if what I have Harry's biological parents doing is actually possible or legal, but for the sake of the storyline, let's say it is.**


	18. Chapter 18: The Wedding

Chapter 18.

**AN: As I have said seventeen times before, I do not own the Fosters. I do own the characters of Danny Evans, and Harry O'Reilly. **

Jude's POV.

November 18th, 2018.

The day had finally arrived.

The wedding.

Connor and I were getting married.

I've been trying to do up my bowtie for twenty minutes, but the thrice damned thing is trying to kill me.

I'm honestly about to have a heart attack, and a knock on the door startles me. I whirl around, and snap at the door.

"WHAT?"

The door opens and Brandon steps in. I sigh in relief.

"Thank god! Can you give me some help with this fucking tie?" I screech.

"You're lucky moms didn't hear you say that." He chuckled as we turned back to the mirror and he began fixing my tie.

I glared at him. It had no effect on him whatsoever.

"Can you blame me for being nervous? I'm getting married! The ceremony starts in ten minutes, I'm still not dressed, and Connor, Adam and Harry are not even here yet! What if Connor changed his mind? What if he's backing out?"

"Connor is not backing out of the wedding, Jude."

I whip around to see Adam standing in the doorway, already in his suit.

"We just ran into some trouble along the way." Adam said irritably.

"Let me guess? Connor's mother?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"Yep."

I jump again as Harry appeared at my side, seemingly from out of thin air. I slapped him on the back of the head.

"How many times," I ground out, "Have I warned you about doing that?"

"Lost track to be perfectly honest." He said, "She ambushed us right as we were leaving Connor's place to come here. She had a whole pack of people with her, carrying picket signs. They'd probably be outside the church in a few minutes, if I hadn't called the cops on them. Kind of makes me glad that we decided to have the wedding indoors instead of on the beach."

"Too cold for that." I muttered as I stared into the mirror.

"Anyway. It's time." Harry continued, "Everybody is in place. Everything is set. Lena is waiting to walk you down the aisle. You ready for this, Jude?"

I drew a deep breath and nodded. We all walked out of the room to where Lena was waiting for me. Everybody else but me and Lena went in and took their places.

"Ready Jude?" She asked me.

I nodded.

The music started and we passed through the doors.

My eyes immediately found Connor, and I was rendered speechless. He was gorgeous, standing there smiling at me with a million watt smile, dressed in a black suit with a indigo blue bowtie that matched the color of my fingernails.

My eye's didn't leave his, and as I reached him, I stared into them.

I got lost in them, to the point where that was all that existed in my world.

I couldn't hear the minister talking, I couldn't hear my family crying in the pews, all that existed was the sea of chocolate brown that were Connor's eyes. We were so lost in each others eyes that we lost all sense of time.

"Will the best men please present the rings?"

Danny stepped beside me and handed me the silver wedding band I had entrusted him with, snapping Connor and I out of our dazes. Harry did the same with Connor, handing him the ring.

"The couple have written their own vows, which they will now recite to each other." The minister said.

I turned to Connor and gazed into his eyes. In his eyes, which shined with tears of joy, I saw reflected memories of our time together, and times that were yet to come.

I drew a shaky breath, and prepared to recite my vows. I knew that my vows were gonna be longer than his.

"Connor... I can hardly believe that we are standing where we are today. My eighteenth birthday. My wedding day. The day where I marry my soul mate. We had to fight to get here, and it wasn't easy. It never will be easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is, and you are more worthwhile than anything in the world."

I wiped a tear away and continued.

"I have loved you, since the very first second we met. When you extended a hand of friendship with an act of kindness towards a small, downtrodden, abused little boy who you'd never met before in your entire life. I loved you from the start. First as a best friend, until it became so much more than that when you kissed me in the tent on that camping trip five years ago. Even if you took your sweet time with unraveling your feelings... You were worth waiting for."

Connor choked out a watery laugh, and his smile widened to the point where it was almost cartoonish. I reached out and grabbed his hand before continuing.

"I have so many people to be thankful towards for getting me here. For getting US here. First among which are our best men. Without Danny, I would have died years ago, in the parking lot of a shopping mall while you were inside oblivious. Without Harry, your mother would be gate crashing the wedding. Another person I have to thank is your dad. Sometimes I marvel at how far he's come. He was once the biggest obstacle in our path towards each other, now he's the bulldozer that clears the path."

Everybody chuckled at that bit.

"You are so many of my firsts, Connor. My first true friend My first confidant outside of my family. My first crush. My first kiss. My first boyfriend. My first love. You're also the first person besides Callie that I have ever had to fight for... and I will continue to fight for you for the rest of my days."

I caressed his hand in mine, before grinning widely into his eyes.

"In a matter of moments, you will be my husband, and I cannot tell you how happy I am that it is true. I love you, Connor Stevens, and it is undying, unending, and I look forward to sharing every day of our long lives with you. With this ring, I make you that promise."

Connor was weeping at this point, as I slid the ring onto his finger. He pulled a handkerchief out of his suit jacket pocket and wiped his eyes.

"Umm." He managed with a laugh, "That's gonna be hard to follow."

I laughed.

"Honestly? What needs to be said that hasn't already been said? Jude... you give me a reason o live. You give me the courage to be myself, in a world that didn't want the same thing. When I met you, six years ago... I didn't see some broken down, abused, shattered little boy. I saw what few others bothered to dig to see. I saw something special."

He reached out and took my hand.

"I knew, that you were somebody I had to know. Had to be friends with. Had to have in my life forever. I just didn't realize at the time that I was falling in love with you."

He caressed my hand.

"I love every single thing about you, Juju. I love your laugh. Your smile. The fact that after dating for five years, there are still things about that you that surprise me. I can't live without you. I can't go a single day without seeing you, hearing your laugh, smelling your smell, kissing your beautiful face. I look forward to living my life with you, and this ring is my promise. You are my soul mate, Jude. I am the luckiest man on the face of the Earth to have found you so young, at only thirteen years old. I swear on my life that I will never let you go."

He slid the ring onto my finger.

"Do you, Jude Jacob Adams Foster, take this man, Connor Alexander Stevens, to be your lawful wedded husband?" The minister asked.

"I do."

"Do you promise to love and cherish him, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him, for so long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

The minister turned to Connor.

"Do you, Connor Alexander Stevens, take this man, Jude Jacob Adams Foster, to be your lawful wedded husband?"

"I do." Connor said, his smile so wide he could barely talk.

"Do you promise to love and cherish him, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him, for so long as you both shall live?"

"I do," He looked me in the eyes, "Always."

"Then with the power vested in me by the state of California, and almighty God, I pronounce you husband and... uh, husband. You may kiss the groom."

We didn't need to be told twice.

I drew him close and our lips met.

It never ceases to take my breath away, kissing Connor. But this kiss was different. It was more special, just like all future kisses would be. For the first time, I was kissing Connor as my husband. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he lifted me off my feet, spinning on the spot, twirling me around in a circle before sitting me back on my feet and hugging me to him.

This was only the beginning of the rest of our lives. Millions of things lay ahead, millions of experiences that Connor and I will share.

Whatever the future held, we both knew that we would face it together.

**AN: And there you have it, the wedding chapter. Hope you liked it. Please leave a review, and any ideas you might have. Should I continue the story? Or should I end it here? I honestly have no idea where I would take it now that it's at this point. Any ideas help.**


	19. Chapter 19: Georgia

Chapter 19.

**Disclaimer: You know the disclaimer by now. I do not own the Fosters. I do own the original characters for this story. **

**AN: I must say that this story might be coming to an end soon. Don't get me wrong, I love writing it and I love the characters, but I'm running out of ideas for what to write, and I think this story might have run its course. I also don't plan to write a sequel. I actually thought about ending it last chapter, and then doing a sequel as a crossover with the Walking Dead. It almost made sense, because this chapter is set in Georgia to deal with Harry's adopted parents, but I only entertained the thought for about twelve seconds before discounting it as idiotic.**

**I might write one more chapter and then an Epilogue after this, but beyond that I don't know if I will continue updating. Once the story is filed as complete, if anybody wants to continue it using my characters, send me a message and I might consider it.**

Connor's POV:

"Attention Passengers, we are approaching Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. We will begin our final descent momentarily."

It's mid June now, and I honestly don't think things could be going any better.

It's been seven months since I married Jude. Seven months since he became my husband.

I stared down at my new drivers license with a sense of pride and accomplishment. Since Jude and I got married, we had to get new drivers licenses that had our married names on them. I couldn't help the overwhelming feeling of happiness that swelled in my chest as I stared at my new legal name.

"Staring at your license again?"

I look beside me, to see Jude staring at me.

"Finally woke back up, huh?" I joke with a smirk.

"Don't dodge the question," He snarked back with a tired grin, "I told you I would sleep through most of the flight."

"Yeah. And yes, I am staring at it again. I can't help it." I grinned goofily, "It's still a bit of a thrill to see it say Connor Stevens Adams-Foster instead of Connor Alexander Stevens."

"Not nearly as much as I like hearing you say it aloud." Jude purred.

Damn that's sexy.

"Are moms still asleep?" I asked him.

He peaked behind him. He turned back to me.

"Yeah, but they won't be for long." He said.

"Ever heard of the mile high club?" I asked him, only partially kidding.

He gave me an EPIC bitch face.

"Absolutely not." He deadpanned, "You may be my husband, but I still have to maintain at least some of my dignity..."

"Oh come on, I was just kidding." I apologize. He smirks at me and raises an eyebrow, "Okay, maybe I was a little serious."

"As tempting as the thought is," He sighed, "I don't think I could bear the quantity of smugness that Danny and Harry would exude if we actually fucked in the bathroom."

I stared at him.

"I knew flying makes you weird, but you swearing like that isn't helping me not want to drag you into the bathroom."

"Oh fuck what did I just wake up and overhear?"

We turn to see Danny staring at us from his seat across the aisle, smirking.

"Nothing." I said.

"Uh huh." He said, unconvinced, "Anyway, what's the plan for when we land?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy are gonna pick us up from the airport. Then they are gonna take us straight to the O'Reilly's place and get them to sign custody of Harry back over to them. If all goes well, we should be on a flight back to San Diego by tomorrow night..."

"Yeah but since when does anything with us ever go to plan." Jude interjected.

"Never." Harry interjected from beside Danny.

"Those pricks are gonna have a coronary when we show up." Danny predicted.

"Two same sex married couples and one engaged gay couple, one of whom is the adopted son they abandoned? I'm counting on it." Harry snarled with barely concealed glee.

The plane landed without incident, and within the hour, they were standing at baggage claim to receive their luggage. One trip to the lost luggage department, and one extremely pissed off Jude later, we were walking toward the exit, where we saw Harry's birth parents standing there waiting for us. Harry approached them first, offering a shy smile and a small wave.

Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy were having none of that, as they both lunged forward and wrapped their son in a hug.

After meeting them for the first time a year previously, Harry had been exchanging Skype calls with his birth parents every night. He wanted to get to know them, and they wanted to be the parents that Harry had always deserved but never received. About a month after mine and Jude's wedding, Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy moved to San Diego to be closer to Harry, and begun the process of regaining custody of Harry. Harry immediately left his step uncles house, much to his step uncles delight, and moved in with them. The process was almost complete, and all that stood in their way was the fact that the O'Reilly's needed to sign a few papers. Being the total pricks that everybody knew they were, they refused to fly to San Diego to sign the papers.

Harry hugged his parents back after a seconds hesitation.

"Hey Mom." He whispered, "Hey Dad."

They gasped and gripped him harder. I was a bit surprised too. It was, as far as I know, the first time Harry had ever called them mom and dad.

After standing there hugging for a few more moments, they led us to the waiting SUV.

The ride to the O'Reilly's house took three hours and ten minutes with the amount of traffic in Atlanta. The entire ride there, nobody said a word. The only sound in the car was the sound of the music that Harry had playing on the radio. He had his iPod hooked up via USB cable, and Jude and I both noticed that the closer we got to our destiation, the more violent the music, and Harry's trembling, became.

When we left the airport, is was playing some country music that made Jude cringe. By the time we left Atlanta, it had changed to Led Zeppelin, then AC/DC. When we were about halfway there, it had been switched to Guns N' Roses. Three quarters of the way there, and it was playing Anthrax. When we pulled into the town where Harry's former home was located and started down the high street, he had switched it play "Angel of Death" by Slayer.

Funny how preparing to face down his almost cartoonish homophobic abandoning adoptive parents makes Harry want to listen to a song about the specific crimes of a Nazi war criminal.

When we pulled up in front of the house, he turned it to a different song. "From Skin To Liquid" by Cannibal Corpse started playing.

"Okay that's e-fucking-nough of that shit." Jude snapped over the music, and unbuckled his seatbelt and reached up and yanked the USB cable out of the radio, "AC/DC's fine, Led Zeppelin is fantastic, Slayer is just BARELY tolerable, but I draw the line at that death metal shit."

Harry wisely held his tongue, electing not to make his customary snark about Jude being a Thrash Metal and Hard Rock purist.

I looked up at the house.

"What a dump." Lena said from behind us.

She wasn't kidding.

It was hard to believe the place was occupied by a life form that didn't come in the form of insects and other such vermin. The roof was missing half of its shingles, the front screen door was missing it's screens, and the shutters on the windows were all hanging on by single screws. One of the front windows was shattered. The paint was peeling, and the plastic siding was falling off the walls.

Yep. Dump pretty much sums it up.

Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy stared at the building in horror.

"You lived here?" Mrs. Kennedy screeched, "Was it always this shite looking?"

"It used to be worse." Harry admitted, shaking like a leaf and twitching violently, "The place didn't have any front windows the last time I saw it, now there is one."

"You okay, love?" Danny asked him.

"No, but we won't be here long so don't worry about it." Harry said shakily, "The last time I was here, my adopted dad tried to burn my hand on the stove, and my adopted mom tried to wail on my head with a soapy frying pan. Since the camp didn't work, they were gonna try to burn and beat it out of me, but I fought back and they sent me to San Diego. I don't know how I'm gonna react to seeing them again, so if I start to break, get me out of here."

We all nod at his wishes.

We all get out and slowly approach the door.

The first thing that hits me is the unmistakable skunk like stench of freshly smoked marijuana, and the smell of booze was thick in the air.

We all peek in the shattered window. It looked like the aftermath of a 1986 Guns N' Roses party. The inside of the house was even worse than the outside. The walls were caked with gunk and dust, and there was garbage strew everywhere. Half eaten pizzas that were at least three days old sat open on the cracked coffee table. The sofa and loveseat were both overturned, and the bottom of the sofa was ripped out. On top of the coffee table was a Tupperware bowl, filled to the brim with white powder, that I presumed was cocaine. There were hundreds of empty beer bottles on the floor... and the tables... and the TV stand. Everywhere. Next to the kitchen entrance sat a large bucket that was overflowing with bottle caps. I snorted.

If this was Fallout, these people would be rich.

Harry's foster dad is laying passed out in a chair, with a lit joint in one hand, and a half empty bottle of beer in the other. His wife beater tank top was obviously once white, but now it was stained brown and yellow. His jeans were ripped on both knees and were caked with dirt and grime, as was every exposed bit of skin. His hair was matted, and he was very still.

"Wouldn't it be great if he just died while we stood here?" Harry snarked malevolently, "Hell, maybe he already is dead."

The lump of lard in the chair snorted.

"Dammit, no such luck." Harry growled.

He stalked forward. Harry and I stood at his sides, while Jude covered his back.

Harry delivered a high stomp right to the man's testicles. Mr. O'Rielly awoke with a screech and slipped out of the chair to lay on the floor, clutching his bruised jewels. Harry leant down and stared right into his face.

"Guess who's back, you imbecilic ape?" He snarled. Mr. O'Reilly's face paled as Harry released a high, cold, almost Joker-esque laugh.

The filth quickly recovered.

"I told you not to come back here." He snarled.

"Oh, believe me." Harry snarled right back, before kicking the slime in the stomach, "I have no intention of staying for very long. Sign the fucking papers, and I'll be out of your lives for good. Where's the witch?"

Mr. O'Reilly pointed to the ceiling.

"Of course the hag is still asleep at 5:00 in the fucking afternoon. No sense of manners. GO GET HER!" Harry thundered. The pitiful excuse for a man leapt to do as he was told. Almost immediately, I smelt the distinct smell of urine and feces.

"You made him piss and shit himself at the same time." Danny stated.

"Yes, indeed I did." Harry confirmed.

Danny exchanged a twenty dollar bill with Harry.

"Nice." Danny commented. Harry nodded.

Not two seconds later, both components of the dirt bag couple stomped down the stairs, glaring at us.

Jesus Christ, and I thought my mom was bad. She's like Mother Theresa compared to this vile waste of blood and organs.

"Where are the fucking papers?" She slurred as she approached us. I caught a whiff of her breath and had to restrain myself from vomiting up everything I had eaten since the wedding.

Mr. Kennedy stepped forward, and withdrew a clipboard and ink pen from his briefcase and handed them to the O'Reillys.

"Sign them, and we'll be gone." He said stiffly, very close to losing his temper.

The pigs couldn't sign the papers fast enough, and when they were done they practically threw it back to Mr. Kennedy.

"There, now get this faggot out of our sight." Mr. O'Reilly snarled, before dragging his wife up the stairs.

We all turned and left without a word.

Stef got in the driver seat, and Lena got shotgun. In the second row, Jude and I sat cuddled up against each other, taking comfort from each other's physical contact. In the back row, Harry, Danny and Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy sat. The adults had their arms wrapped around the two boys.

Harry started to sob, but the sobs turned to squealing laughter as he hugged his parents.

"It's f-f-f-FINALLY OVER!" He screeched.

I smiled as I turned to look at them out of the corner of my eyes.

Harry would finally have the parents he was meant to have.

Finally.


	20. Chapter 20: Epilogue (Sort of)

Chapter 20: EPILOGUE.

**Disclaimer: For the twentieth time, I do not own the Fosters.**

**AN: This is it. The final chapter of "Shared", unless in the future I decide to write anything else for it. I will be writing more Jonnor stories after this one, but it will be brand new and unrelated to the events of this story. This chapter will explain what happens to Jude, Connor, Harry and Danny in the future, after the trip to Georgia. If anybody reading wants to borrow some of the things I write below and turn them into stories themselves, then consider this author's note my permission to do so.**

_EPILOGUE:_

_**Jude and Connor:**_

Three months after graduating from Anchor Beach, with their parents and siblings help, Jude and Connor had finally saved up enough money to lease an apartment for them to live in together. It was a small apartment, with only one bedroom and bathroom, as well as a small kitchen and living room. The couple loved it. Sure, it was a bit weird to not live at the Fosters house any longer, but neither Jude nor Connor would have it any other way.

Both of them went to college at the University of California, San Diego. Jude studied to become a teacher, and Connor to become a doctor.

They obtained their Associates Degrees in 2022, then Bachelors Degrees with honors in mid-2026. That same year, Jude started teaching English at Anchor Beach with his mother, and Connor started working at the same hospital where he and Jude first became boyfriends. In 2031 they obtained Masters Degrees, and Jude decided that his mounting debt was not worth increasing to get a Doctorate Degree. Connor went on to obtain his Doctorate, reconnecting with Daria and Taylor in the process, renewing the friendship they had once shared.

In June of 2034, the method of artificial insemination that produced three parent babies (Three Parent In Vitro Fertilization) was legalized in the United States. After being married for eighteen years, Connor and Jude finally decided to start a family of their own. Taylor offered to be the boys surrogate, and after crying copious gallons of hysterically happy tears, the two accepted.

Nine months later their son was born.

Justin Jacob Adams Foster was born on March 24th 2035 at 5:36 pm, weighing five pounds, six ounces. He came into the world screaming his tiny head off. He was immediately nicknamed "JJ" by his giddy fathers. Callie was named his godmother, and Danny was named his godfather.

Shortly after his birth, the small family moved out of the small apartment and into an actual house, right down the street from Stef and Lena, and right next door to Harry and Danny.

They waited until Justin was four before they thought about having another kid.

They decided to adopt this time, and obtained a license to foster children. In true Adams Foster fashion, the next addition to the family was a set of twins.

Cody and Evan Richards arrived on their doorstep on January 9th, 2039. They were two rundown little three and a half year old boys who had been through hell. Their caseworker told Jude and Connor in advance all the things the two boys had been through, and that they would have to be patient.

They had been in the system together for a year and a half, and had been to three separate foster homes.

For the first week, both boys seemed terrified and Evan didn't say a word. After a week, they started to warm up to Justin when he offered them some of his favorite toys. Another week went by before they relaxed around Jude or Connor. After a month of living with them, Evan and Cody were relaxed enough around the family to act like children instead of prisoners of war.

On December 10th, 2039, the twins called Jude and Connor dad for the first time. Three days later, they sat the twins down and asked them if they would like to stay with them permanently. They two boys sobbed into their foster dads' arms as they accepted. On February 22nd, 2040, Cody and Evan Adams Foster were officially adopted.

Connor and Jude were sharing the life they always wanted, and they looked forward to growing old together, and watching their children grow.

_**Harry and Danny:**_

After his parents regained custody and parental rights over him, Harry changed his last name back to his birth name of Kennedy. After graduation, Danny and Harry dated for another two years before the two got engaged and moved into a small apartment together. The couple married on August 5th, 2020, with Jude and Connor as their best men.

Danny decided not to go to college, and decided to put his mastery of guitar and bass guitar to use and started a band instead. The band was called "Iron Will", and it was meant to be a sort of tribute to the thrash metal genre that had long since fizzled out with the exception of the Big Four. In 2023, the bands first demo caught the attention of Blackened Recordings, the independent label founded by the legendary metal band, Metallica.

One night at a gig in a club in downtown San Diego, the four members of the legendary band showed up to watch Iron Will play, prompting Danny to nearly faint in the middle of a song. They were offered a record deal, a contract for five albums to be released within the span of ten years. Danny shook James Hetfield's hand and promptly fainted like he almost did on stage.

The band released their first album, titled "Beat and Scarred", on July 10th, 2024. The album went gold within three months, and platinum by the end of the year.

Harry decided that he was going to be a writer. He went to the same college as Jude and Connor, and earned his Masters in English. His first novel was published and released to critical acclaim in 2027.

Not long after that, the couple suffered a near fatal blow, when a routine visit to the doctor turned into Danny's worst nightmare.

In a repeat of history, Harry was diagnosed with the same type of Leukemia that had killed Gideon Kennedy, his twin brother, and Danny's beloved first boyfriend. The doctors said that, unlike Gideon, Harry's sickness had been caught at a time when it could still be treated and that remission was possible if he was admitted to the hospital and immediately started treatment.

Nevertheless, Danny was inconsolable for days after the diagnosis. He refused to leave his husbands hospital bedside for any reason. At one point, he became so agitated with a doctor that he had to be restrained and sedated by hospital staff to avoid somebody getting hurt. Connor and Jude were with them every step of the way.

A year and a half after treatment had begun, on April 10th, 2029, Harry was told that he was in remission. The cancer was gone. When the news was delivered, Danny broke down into extremely hysterical sobs and clung to Harry for three full hours before calming down. He had been terrified that he would end up losing Harry the same way he had lost Gideon all those years ago.

Harry's cancer never came back.

A year and a half later, on September 11th, 2030 they adopted a little girl named Jessica. Jude was named her godfather.

Twenty two years later, Jude, Connor, Danny and Harry stood side by side, applauding as Justin Adams Foster married her.

Two families, bound by brotherhood, became one large family, instead of two close ones.

With the birth of their first grandchild, the family was finally bound by kindred blood.


	21. Authors Note: NEW JONNOR STORY POSTED

**Author's Note.**

The first chapter of my second Jonnor story, War Paint, has been posted. I encourage everybody to read it and review it like you have with this story.

I would like to thank the reviewers: **JonnorFTW**, **Andrew**, **aphass**, **m'j doom,** and all the other guest and site reviewers for their ideas and encouragement throughout the process of making this story. It is good to know that people like my writing, and as long as people review, I will keep writing more Jonnor.

Thank you all again for reading.

-Nuke Rose.


	22. Chapter 21: Déjà Vu

Chapter 21: Déjà Vu.

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Fosters. **

**AN: Okay, so I said that in the future, I might return and post things to this story, and I decided that I wanted to take a short break from writing "War Paint", which has become complicated with three different arcs that I have to plan out and work on. I decided to revisit this story and write chapters for some of things that happened in the epilogue. This chapter deals with when Harry is diagnosed with Leukemia.**

Friday, December 10th 2027.

Connor's POV:

I inserted my key into the door of my apartment and turned it, opening the door and marching inside, ripping the nasty shirt of my scrubs off once I had closed the door behind me.

"Juju! I'm home!"

"In the kitchen!"

I walked in a wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing kisses to the side of his face and neck. I stood there for ten minutes, just holding my husband, who was cradling a cup of coffee in one hand, and a glazed donut in the other. He turned around in my arms and kissed me softly. I responded immediately, my lips tingling the whole time. He pulled back and looked me up and down, eyeing my exposed chest and abs. He ran his hand down my chest, and I shivered at his touch.

"You took your shirt off already?" Jude asked, "Not that I am complaining. Snack and a strip tease. Perfect way to relax."

"Hahaha." I guffawed, "I used both of my pairs of scrubs today. The shirt of my scrubs that I wore home is drenched in sweat and other nasty things. You wouldn't have let me anywhere near you if I was wearing it."

"Long day I'm guessing?" Jude asked.

"Yep. Huge pile up on the freeway earlier. I was in surgery for four hours trying to put this kid's leg back together. I thought we were gonna have to amputate it. Then I had these two nurses almost kill one of the patients."

"How'd they manage that."

"Don't get me started."

"I want to know, though. Tell meeeeeee." Jude teased.

"Okay, Okay. Silly creature." I teased back, pressing a kiss to his forehead, "The man was allergic to morphine and I guess what I caught them trying to give him?"

"Morphine?"

I nod my head.

"Yep. Oh and I saw Danny and Harry too." I said.

"Really, why were they at the hospital? Danny tends to avoid hospitals at all costs." Jude said, slightly shocked that our oldest friend would set foot into a hospital without being sedated first.

"Well, Harry hasn't been feeling well lately. He's been feeling sick since Danny came back from being on tour for the new Iron Will album. Danny thinks he has the flu." I explained, "Harry wanted me to draw some blood and run tests just in case. I did the tests, I'm probably gonna get a call later with the results."

"Okay, what else happened?"

"Not much else. Couple of drunks admitted that needed their stomachs pumped." I said, "What about you? How was your day in the wonderful world of education?"

I laid on the sarcasm extra thick at the last sentence.

"I'm having my seventh grade class write their first research papers." He complained, "I assigned it on Friday, told them to have a written rough draft to turn in today. Out of thirty kids, 12 of them didn't do it at all, five weren't at the required length, and three were way too similar to be original work. The rest of them were decent, if a bit iffy on the formatting. I swear to god, some of these kids I have to teach barely know how to read, let alone write an essay. I mean, I know I was better than that at their age, and I was hopping around to different schools every year from being in the foster system! And don't even get me started on their penmanship!"

But I had to get him started on their penmanship, because Jude is extremely adorable when he works himself up into a furious rant.

"What's wrong with their penmanship?"

"Oh. My. GOD! It's like some of them have never even held a fuckin pencil before in their lives." He whined furiously, "There were a couple of drafts, and I kid you not, there were no spaces in between the fucking words! Everything was blurred together! I can read the doctors chicken scratch you call your penmanship just fine, but this was atrocious. I swear to god, a chipmunk on LSD could write better than some of these kids."

I snorted.

"A chipmunk on LSD? Really?" I ask, laughter coloring my voice.

"You know you love my weird comparisons." He returned.

"But, of course." I said, amusement thick in my voice, "Anyway what's for dinner?"

"I don't really wanna cook." Jude said.

"Neither do I." I said.

"Takeout?" Jude suggested.

"Applebee's?" I ask.

"Sounds good to me." He agrees.

"I'll order." I said, withdrawing my phone from my pocket and dialing the number.

"I'll start the XBOX." Jude said, bolting into the living room. My eyes trail after him, and I smile.

That was a tradition we had. Every Monday night we'd eat in front of the TV, while playing on the ancient XBOX 360 that I had kept from my teenage years. Usually we spent hours shooting zombies in Call of Duty, yelling obscenities at the television every time one of us was downed.

Twenty minutes later, we were sitting on the couch. Jude was eating a burger, well done with a large order of French fries, while I was eating chicken tenders and fries. My eyes were locked on the TV, and a chicken tender was dangling from the corner of y mouth as I concentrated on killing the zombies that were crawling through the busted barricade in the upstairs room of the bar.

It took us about twenty more minutes to finish eating, and we both looked exhausted.

"You wanna go to bed?" I ask him, "We don't have to keep playing."

"Yeah, let's do it."

"No pun intended, I'm guessing?" I joke. He raised an eyebrow, and reached out and dragged a finger from my collarbone down to the waistband of my sweatpants.

"You want to?" He purred.

Damn. Him.

"Yes please."

"Race you to the bedroom."

I couldn't have run fast enough if I had a jet engine attached to my back.

**The Next Morning:**

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that my phone was ringing off the hook. I reached for it, fumbling for it before finally getting it in my grip and answering it. I grumble to myself as I notice that it's 1:00 in the afternoon. I don't like sleeping in this late, but when Jude and I stay up into the late hours of the morning having sex, it always happens.

"'Ello?" I mutter sleepily into the phone.

"C-c-Connor?" A voice sobbed on the other end.

I shot up in bed, knocking Jude off of me, waking him up.

"Whazgoinon?" He mumbled, "Who is it?"

"It's Danny. He's crying. Something is wrong."

"Danny?"

All that I got in response was a sob.

"Danny, what's wrong?" I plead, "Talk to me brother."

"I-I n-need you and Jude. Now. C-can I c-come over?"

"Of course." I said.

"B-be t-t-t-there in t-two minutes."

He hung up.

Sure enough, not even two minutes later, there is a knock on the door of our apartment. I rush to answer it.

Danny is a complete mess.

He is still wearing the same outfit that he was wearing when I saw him the day before. His hair was messy, and was sticking up in every possible direction. His eyes were completely bloodshot, and his cheeks were stained with tear tracks. His shoulders were shuddering with unconcealed sobs.

He launches forward and pulls me and Jude into a hug.

"Danny what's wrong?" Jude asked worriedly.

"It's h-h-happening again. IT'S HAPPENING A-FUCKING-GAIN !" He screamed hysterically, before he released us and his knees gave out as he sunk to the floor.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's H-H-Harry." He sobbed.

"What's wrong? What happened to Harry?" I ask, a enormous sense of dread forming in the pit of my stomach. "Where is he?"

"He's still at the hospital. They admitted him immediately." He said, crying frantically, "It was just supposed to be a normal visit to the doctor! I've seen it before, I should have seen the signs, I should have SEEN THE FUCKING SIGNS!"

"What do you mean?" I ask him, trying to stay calm myself.

"HE'S GOT LEUKEMIA! HARRY HAS FUCKING LEUKEMIA!"

Danny grabbed his hair, and he pulled. The scream he let out would haunt me far into the future.

My heart stopped.

I prayed that this was a joke. It had to be.

Harry? With Leukemia?

"I can't do this again," Danny sobbed uncontrollably, "I CAN'T FUCKING DO IT! I'VE ALREADY LOST GIDEON TO THIS BULLSHIT! NOW I MIGHT LOSE HARRY TOO? WHAT DID I FUCKING DO TO DESERVE THIS? I'M FUCKING SICK OF HOW EVERY TIME THINGS ARE GOING WELL, SOMETHING HAS TO RUIN IT!"

He launched to his feet, and launches a punch into the bookshelf opposite the front door. I launched forward and grabbed him from behind, wrestling him into an embrace. After fighting it for a few minutes, he sobbed into my chest.

"I should have noticed it SOONER!" He sobbed, "IT'S THE SAME FUCKING KIND THAT KILLED GIDDY! I CAN'T LOSE HARRY, CONNOR! I CAN'T! I'LL DIE WITHOUT HIM!"

"Harry is not gonna die." I said sternly, "There are a lot of new ways to treat this kind of thing. Gideon died fourteen years ago. Harry has a much better chance. You have to have hope, brother. With the money from your bands album and ticket sales, and from Harry's book, you can afford the highest quality treatment."

"I can't lose him, Connor." Danny sobbed hysterically, "I just can't."

"You won't."

"But what if I do?"He whimpered, "He's my husband. The love of my life. I can't live without him."

"Then we'll help you get through it." Jude said, "We'll help you. We'll hold you while you cry, and we'll cry with you just like we did all the years ago when you first told us the story about Gideon. We'll share the grief, just like we always have. Just like we always will."

As I listened to Jude talk, I thought about what he was saying. It was a task easier said than done. Harry was our brother in all but blood. I don't think any of us could bare it if we lost him.

If Harry dies, a large piece of Jude and I will die with him.

And if Danny loses him, he'll have nothing to live for.

I shared a look with Jude. He nodded at me. He knew what I was thinking.

It wasn't just Harry's life on the line.

Because if he dies, so does Danny.


	23. Chapter 22: Good Luck For Once

Chapter 22: Good Luck for Once.

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Fosters.**

_Words written in italics are flashbacks or memories._

Danny's POV:

It's April 10th, 2029, and it has been a year and a half since the worst day of my life.

It's been a year and a half since Harry was diagnosed with Leukemia, and I went to pieces in the Adams Foster apartment.

That night was not the last night I would spend on the Jude and Connor's couch crying myself to sleep. That was how the rest of the nights that week would end, with me leaving Harry at the hospital to get his rest, and end up sobbing into one of Connor or Jude's couch pillows. After the seventh day I had done it that week, I returned to the hospital with a week's worth of clothes, my acoustic guitar and a couple of blank notebooks.

After that, I rarely left the hospital. I practically lived there. Connor would check in on us every day during his lunch break, and Jude would come up and visit after he got out of work. I left the room maybe twice a day for the first two weeks to go down to the cafeteria to get myself some food. Then I realized just how much I hate hospital food, and I started having Jude bring me food after he got off work.

I spent almost every waking moment at Harry's side after that. I would entertain him while he was awake, and I would write music for the next Iron Will album while he was asleep. Harry's condition and his illness started seeping into the music, and five of the albums twelve songs are about deadly diseases.

After eight months of treatment, Harry was deemed well enough to leave the hospital. He was fighting the disease well enough that he didn't need to be kept their round the clock. I would drive him up to the hospital for his chemotherapy treatments, and then take him home and take care of him there afterwards. Connor would always drop in after work to check on him, and every day I thank god that one of my best friends is a doctor.

Now, I sit next to Jude, Connor, and Harry in the waiting room, awaiting the news of the most recent round of tests. I sat praying to whatever deity existed to spare Harry and keep him from dying like Gideon did.

"Just keep calm Danny." Harry said weakly, "Everything is gonna be fine."

It hurt to hear his voice, sounding so weak and tired. I offered him a tight smile and reached out and took his hand. I look into his eyes. Inside I didn't see the weak dejection that I remember in Gideon's eyes near the end. I saw a quiet determination.

"I'm trying, beloved." I tell him shakily, "It's just difficult."

"We know it's difficult, Danny." Connor interjected, "Hopefully, this'll be the last time we ever have to come in here."

"I have been praying for that since the day he was diagnosed." I said, "I have been praying for mercy. But I did that with Giddy too, and the prayers went unanswered. Excuse me if my faith is a bit shaken at the moment."

"And you have that right." Jude said, "But you can't give up hope. We've made it so far, we can't stop now. Everything has gone well so far. Let's hope it stays that way."

"Yeah, seriously," Harry said weakly leaning against me, "I could really use a break. I'm so tired. I'm tired of fighting. I'm ready for this all to be over. I'm ready for it to end, and for things to go back to normal."

I lurched in my seat at hearing him say that, because Giddy had said almost the exact same thing the night he died. I shook my head trying to clear the memory away, but it kept coming.

_"What's wrong, love?" I said to Giddy, who was curled up, crying into my side._

_"I don't want to fight anymore, Danny."_

_"What do you mean, Giddy?"_

_"I'm so tired. I'm ready for the pain to stop."_

_"You can't give up." I said, tear welling in my eyes._

_"I gave up a long time ago." He said through his tears, "The only reason I held on to life for so long was because I didn't want to leave you here alone. But I don't think I have a choice. It's too late for me, Danny."_

_"How am I supposed to go on without you?" I sobbed, "I don't want to live without you. I don't know if I can, baby."_

_"I want you to promise me something, Danny." Giddy said weakly._

_"Anything, I'll do anything you ask." I sobbed._

_"Promise me that you'll keep living." He cried, "That you'll go on, even if you have to do it without me, even if you have to learn how to live again. Even if you have to find somebody who can teach you HOW to live again, you do it. Promise me?"_

_"I p-promise, love. I promise." I cried, tears leaking down my face._

_"I... I love you Danny." Giddy sobbed, "I'm sorry it took me so long to say it aloud. But when I'm gone... I want you to know that."_

_"I love you too, Giddy." I sobbed back, "That's one thing that'll never change. You didn't even have to say it, I already knew. It's just one of those things that doesn't need words to be real."_

_"Kiss me. Please?" Giddy said._

_"What?"_

_"I know you said you wanted to wait." Giddy cried softly, "Until I got better. But that's not gonna happen. I want know what it's like to kiss the boy I love before it's too late."_

_"Okay." I said, and I leaned in._

_As soon as our lips made contact, I felt him relax beneath me. I opened my eyes to see his face, and through all the pain, I saw bliss._

_After four minutes, his breathing got shallow. A minute later, I felt him exhale. He stopped kissing me back. I pulled away, and his eyes stared ahead, unseeing and blank._

_"Giddy?" I asked fearfully. He didn't answer._

_I choked out a sob._

_"G-G-Giddy, d-don't do this to m-me b-baby, please."_

_Still no answer._

_My sobs grew hysterical, loud, desperate._

_"Nonononono, please. P-please w-wake up."_

_When my pleas went unanswered, my grief consumed me._

_He was gone._

_I reared my head back and screamed._

I felt a light pressure on my shoulder and it startled me out of my memory. After a second I realized that I had started crying. I looked down to see Connor kneeling in front of me.

"Sorry," I choked out, "Flashback."

"Of that night?"

"When Giddy died." I confirmed, wiping the tears away furiously, "Sorry, something Harry said triggered it."

"What was that?" Harry asked sadly.

"You saying you were tired of fighting." I answered shakily, "He said that, about six minutes before he died."

"I'm sorry, Danny." Harry apologized.

"Never be sorry." I said to him sternly, "You never have to apologize to me for anything."

Then the doctor walked up. I stood up, helping Harry to his feet.

"Mr. and Mr. Kennedy. Good to see you both." He said.

"Doctor." I said with a nod, "What did the tests say?"

"His white cell count has normalized. His blood tests are normal." The doctor said, smiling, "All the tests are showing the same thing."

"You mean?" I start to say hopefully.

"He's in remission." The doctor informed us happily, "The cancer is gone."

I could feel my knees go out, and I fell to the floor. I started crying, but they were happy tears. I could feel Harry's arms wrap around me

"Thank you god." I gasped out, "Thank you, god."

"We're gonna be okay." Harry whispers happily in my ear.

I cling to him, sobbing tears of joy.

My prayers had been answered.


End file.
